Natural Disaster
by Up and Down - Forward and Back
Summary: Ella is secretly in love with Murphy, but is too afraid to tell him how she feels. Will someone else get to him first? And, what will happen if that person is wearing the face of her worst enemy?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: As Summer comes dangerously close to an end and Autumn approaches, bringing with it yet another school year where half of our days are despicably taken away from us – I have decided to try my luck at a NaNoWriMo-esque story that I will (hopefully) update every single day, rapping it up at the end of August. My goal is to have a complete book of at least 25 chapters at the end of the month. Stay tuned...**

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Chapter 1

Ella Pov

"Hey Murphy, we're about to leave, you coming?" called Ella as she stepped through the gates and out into the still woods, slinging her backpack over one shoulder.

She made the pack herself out of pieces of discarded material she found in the Drop Ship, which had been brutally torn apart after its crash landing to Earth to make makeshift beds, backpacks, and other like objects. It came quite in handy when she was gone from camp for long periods of time with the guys, hunting or scavenging for food or whatever task that the group was sent out on that day.

"Hold your horses kid, can't you see I'm peeing," he shamelessly yelled back, his voice coming from behind a bush somewhere to her right, making Ella chuckle.

He had called her Kid ever sense they were little; they had been friends all their lives and she had become use to his superior attitude in which he associated with everyone.

Finally reemerging from his hiding spot, Murphy walked over to where Ella stood and picked up his backpack laying at her feet as the rest of the group scurried around them in preparation for their trip: packing water and food, checking packs for loose straps, and every once in a while running back to their tents to retrieve a forgotten item.

"About time."

Murphy smirked and playfully bumped her with his shoulder.

"Lets go, we're losing daylight!" called Bellamy, causing those who were still in the camp to dash back out so as not to be left behind.

Once he was sure that everyone was there, Bellamy started down the path with Jasper and Miller hot on his heels, everyone else following a few paces behind them.

Ella and Murphy dropped back a bit, taking up the rear as usual and fell into step beside each other. Ella glanced over at the boy beside her, holding back the smile that was trying to creep onto her lips. Everyone around camp tried to avoid Murphy, not wanting to chance eliciting his wrath or have to hear some smutty or sarcastic comment that seemed to fall from his mouth more than half the time. But, growing up with him, Ella just learned to roll with it, and really liked being around him. He let his guard down when he was with her. True, he wasn't a perfect gentleman – no Murphy would never be described as that – she was the butt of most of his jokes and still had to stand his sarcastic comments, but they were always laced with humor when concerning her, and never really bothered her. She was fine with who he was and wouldn't want him to change for the world. The only thing she hated was that he put his walls back up when dealing with other people. He never wanted anyone to see his weaknesses... no one but her. He trusted her.

They walked through the woods just far enough so that they could get away from the noises of camp without crossing the boundary into Grounder territory. No one side a word as they made their way through the woods trying not to scare away any potential game.

They were all still relatively new at this however, and the crunching of dry leaves and twigs under the feet of five teenage kids would be enough to give their position away to anything close by.

Bellamy stopped abruptly holding one fist in the air to signal for them to do the same, everyone behind him followed suit save Jasper who almost ran straight into him. Ella gave Murphy as sideways glance and rolled her eyes, Murphy returned her look with a smirk. Jasper had been late to join the game, and so had the least training.

Pivoting on his heels to face them, Bellamy gave the surrounding trees a once-over and deciding that this was as good a place as any to hunt, he returned his attention back to the party awaiting his instructions.

"Alright," he said in a quiet but demanding voice,"we'll split into two teams – Miller, Jasper, you're with me - Murphy you're with Ella. We'll catch as much as we can in the expanse of three hours, then meet back here.

"You got it boss," said Murphy, before the two groups dispersed – Bellamy, Jasper, and Miller breaking off to the right, leaving Murphy and Ella to go left.

Heading down their new path, Murphy reached his right hand to his belt where he kept his knife and took it out, tossing it into the air in the same motion, then catching it with ease as the hilt landed in his palm. Ella shook her head at him causing a grumbling laugh to erupt from deep in his chest.

"intimidated aren't you?" said Murphy cocking one eyebrow at her.

"Please," said Ella shoving him playfully. "I bet I can catch twice as much game as you can. Every time you get near an animal it rolls its eyes and scoffs at you before disappearing into the woods."

Murphy's face was a mask of mock shock that was quickly turned into a sly grin as he tucked his knife back into its place holder. Before she could realize what was happening, he bent down, grabbing her around the waist and tossed her over his shoulder like a rag doll, with little to no effort because of her small frame (yet another thing that Ella was use to). He continued down the path like that while she laughed and struggled to break free of his strong grip.

"Murphy - Oh my God -Let me down," she half panted half laughed, giving up the already lost battle and instead tried to hoist herself up by bracing her open palms on his back to stop the blood from rushing to her head, her white blond hair swinging around her in time with his steps.

"Alright – but first say that I'm a better hunter than you."

"Y-your such a child – let me down."

He smiled to himself and started spinning her around, her hair whipping them both in the face as he did. Ella started laughing even harder, having to resort to biting down on his shirt to keep from screaming and scare all of the animals away, although she had a sneaking suspicion it was already too late for that.

"Alright, alright," she panted. "You're a better hunter than me, you're the best hunter on the entire Earth!"

Pleased with her answer, he set her back on her feet, though not completely leaving each others embrace to keep from falling over from dizziness, a big lazy smile spread across both of their faces.

"You're exhausting," Ella huffed and pushed off his chest once she felt like she could walk down the path without running into a tree.

"Come on, you know you love me," said Murphy running back to her side and falling back in step with her.

"Ha!" She tried for sarcasm, but couldn't help giving him a quick glace, her smile wavering.

Ella couldn't even remember a time when she didn't have Murphy in her life. Their mothers had been best friends before they were born, and when they both had children it just seemed so natural for them to become friends as well – living in close proximity, and visiting every single day.

Over the years she had started to gradually become closer and closer with him, until she was afraid that she really was falling in love with the stubborn man. She was sure that all of her friends (which weren't very many) would think that she was going insane if she told them, so she just kept this bit of information to herself. After all, she was the only one who really knew him, and knew that he could be quite playful and charming when he wanted to be, and had been very protective over her her whole life. But, she was afraid that he would push her away if she tried to take things any further with him, and so kept it from him as well.

"I think you might have scared off any animals for a hundred miles in every direction from your screaming," came Murphy's voice, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, ho, I'm sure you'll have a very detailed story ready for Bellamy in which the reason that we inevitably return to camp empty handed is somehow my fault alone."

Murphy looked down at her and winked, sending butterflies through her stomach, that she tried desperately to push down.

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 **A/N: I never fail to fall for tortured/angst male characters, whether that be in books, movies or TV shows, so obviously I just had to write a Fan Fiction with Murphy as one of the main characters. I however couldn't see any of the girls who were on the show being with him, except maybe Raven, but I decided to just go ahead and write one for him, because in order to go with the feel of the story I wanted the girl to be a bit more sweet and playful than Raven who – even though I am total obsessed with her character - I felt was a little to harsh for the roll. Anyways – sorry for the short chapter, you can expect the next one to be longer.**

 **Hope you enjoy the rest of the story!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Quick thing that I forgot to explain before posting the fist chapter – I will not be following the main plot, but making one of my own. All of the characters that appear in my story will, for the most part, have the same personality as on the show with the exception of Murphy, who you will get to see a softer side to, and Harper, who is not a very popular character that - one that no one knows much about, so I am going to be making her out to be the mean girl. Just wanted to clear that up in order to prevent any future confusion. ;)**

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Chapter 2

Ella Pov

"So, I saw you talking to Miller earlier," said Murphy, looking down at Ella. "You're not ditching me for another guy are you?"

Ella blushed, not taking her eyes off of the path before her that had been cut threw the forest from weeks of hunting. They had been walking for over two hours and had yet to catch anything to bring back to camp.

"You don't care if I spend hours on end talking to Jasper and Monty."

"Please, Jasper and Monty are completely harmless, they couldn't get a girl to save their lives. Miller on the other hand," here he broke off, seeming unsure on how to finish his train of thought. "You should just be careful."

"I really don't think that you have anything to worry about when it comes to me and dating. _I_ couldn't get a guy to save _my_ life."

Murphy shook his head at this. "You have the lowest self esteem of any man, women or child alive, you really do. Can't you see how beautiful you are? Every time you walk threw camp, guys swarm around you, pining after you like lost puppies."

Ella stared at him, trying to figure out whether or not he was messing with her, but she only found honesty, and a little embarrassment in his expression. It caught her off guard for a moment but she soon recovered, eyes trained back on the path, her mouth turning up slightly.

"I'm just saying, I've just turned seventeen and I've never been in any kind of romantic relationship - I mean I must be doing _something_ wrong."

Murphy regarded her with considerate eyes. "You don't put yourself out there enough, you're too shy."

Scrunching her nose, Ella scanned the trees, in search of squirrels.

"I just like being on my own," Ella said quietly. "-Or with you – I like being with you," she added quickly, snapping her head back to look at him, smiling.

"Thanks, I'm glad you said that as an after thought," he said sarcastically under his breath.

Ella giggled and looped an arm threw one of his.

"Don't worry, you're stuck with me."

He ruffled her hair, pulling her closer so that he could wrap his arm around her waist, the action effecting Ella more than she would like to admit.

The sudden rustle of leaves made both of them freeze in their tracks. Murphy nudged Ella's arm and they both started heading towards the sound, knives out and ready.

A squirrel suddenly burst from the underbrush, scurrying towards a tree. Once it made it up the trunk a little ways reaching eye level, Murphy let his knife loose, hurling it for the squirrel and burying itself deep in the trunk right under it.

Ella scoffed beside him as it ran up into the branches and out of site. Murphy walked over to the tree and yanked it back out, pivoting on his heels to face her.

"What?" he said with a smirk. "Think you can do better?"

"Oh no, of course not," she said, throwing her hands in the air as if she were trying to calm a savage dog.

A sly smile spread across his face as he walked towards her – a predator stalking its prey. Her stomach clenched at the feral glint in his eyes and she quickly spun around laughing as she dashed back threw the woods, hearing Murphy's heavy steps chancing her.

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Raven Pov

Stepping out into the warm daylight brought much relief to Raven's strained eyes. She had been working on the bullets that Bellamy had brought back for her to inspect - hours of nothing but opening a bullet, checking the gun powder inside to see if they were still able to be used and then tossing it into the right container – a cycle that never seemed to end as her body went on auto pilot - one right after the other, after the other, after the other.

She breathed in the fresh air around her before heading right for the food table where two of the boys who were left behind while the others went hunting stood sorting berries and nuts.

"Hey Monty, stuck working the food table again I see," she said, turning around and hopping up to sit on the end of the table.

"Better than working the meat shack. I'll take a boring job any day over bleeding raw meat."

Raven smiled and popped a berry into her mouth, the juices exploding against her tongue. She very vividly remembered Monty's first experience with working in the meat shack. He had been completely white the entire time the blood was draining, with the last straw being having to dump the bucket of blood out in the bushes. He had puked all over the place, and was unable to eat anything the rest of the day and eventually having to go to bed before the sun even started to set.

Tilting her head up to the sun, she laughed as the images of a wrenching Monty came to her head.

"Although, I would much rather be helping you with the bullets," he said under his breath.

At that she rolled her head to the side to peer over at him, bringing a flush to his face.

"I mean, I know that you have a lot of work, and seem as if you could really use the help. Ever since Jasper got upgraded to the "big leagues", I've had to work on most of the technical projects on my own and I know how mentally strenuous it can be," he babbled, his cheeks burning bright red.

The corner of Raven's mouth twitched, knowing full well that Monty had a crush on her. Sure, she was still with Finn, and yeah, it was probably a bad idea to lead him on, but there was something very flattering in knowing that someone could get that worked up just by having a casual conversation with you.

"No, your absolutely right, I could use some help. Maybe I can talk to Bell and ask him if someone could take your place here."

Monty looked at her hopefully, some of the awkwardness leaving him as he returned to his work after getting yelled at by James – one of Bell's supervisors.

"Don't you have something better to do? Or did you come out here just so that you could distract my workers?" asked James, approaching Raven with determined steps, a snarl gracing his lips.

Raven rolled her eyes and hopped off the table, brushing her pants off.

"Spare me your hissy fight James," she said in a bored voice, skating around him.

He grabbed her arm and spun her back around to face him with dangerous eyes, the light green of his irises turning a shade or two darker. He whipped his long blond hair that almost reached past his shoulders out of his eyes with a flick of his head.

"Let go of me," she snarled, trying to yank her arm free.

A slow smile that didn't quite reach his eyes spread across his lips as he looked her up and down in a way that had her blood boiling.

"I don't think so sweet pea. You know what I think? I think that you need a little lesson on following authority," he whispered in her ear.

A shiver when down her spine at his words, but her eyes never left his, unwilling to let him see her fear. She was not the first girl to encounter this side of the boy and had heard many stories about how he had made it into the Skybox.

She had heard all about how he had been sent there for raping one of his sisters friends as well as beating a girl almost to death. Why Bellamy had put him in charge of supervising all activities in the camp when Miller was not there to do it was beyond her.

"Let her go James."

A momentary look of surprise came over the boys face at the sound of Monty's voice behind him - one that matched her own. Monty was never one for speaking up in even the worst of situations.

The look quickly past, replaced by one of boredom as he regarded the shorter boy.

"Stay out of this pipsqueak," said James, before drawing his attention back to Raven.

Raven immediately tried to fight her way out of his strong grasp again, which was starting to cut off her circulation. She was sure that she was going to have a bruise in the morning.

His grip was like a steel wall. He wasn't even bothering to make another move on her, but regarded her with a look of lazy amusement at her struggle. This only made her angrier, and she redoubled her efforts, striking out with her other fist, but to no avail as the other boy was a good head taller than her, a pure wall of muscle.

Monty made a move as if to help her, but was easily held back by James's other hand before he pushed him hard to the ground, taking that moment to spin her around, facing away from him to grab her other arm so that her back was held tight against his front.

"Trust me sweat pea – fighting is only going to make it worse."

Just as he finished that sentence, the gates opened and the team of hunters came funneling back into camp. Bellamy and Miller entered first, a string of squirrels and a rabbit in hand followed by a very dirty Jasper, with Murphy and Ella close behind, empty handed.

James quickly pushed Raven away from him upon seeing them, walking over to talk with Miller, but not before looking back to give her a charming smile and a wink that made her want to smack him.

Ella immediately headed for Raven whose face was red and body trembling.

"Raven," Ella whispered in a soothing voice. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Fine," she said a bit more cheerfully than she had intended to.

Ella's eyes narrowed in suspicion. No one could keep anything from her, she could always tell when something was wrong. But, what Raven loved most about her long time friend was that she always knew when to push a subject, when to sit and comfort someone without saying a word, and when to just let something go.

"Alright," was all she said.

"I see you and Murphy were unsuccessful in your hunt."

Ella blushed and looked at the ground.

Raven gave her a reluctant smile. "I swear, asking you two to be quite when you're together is like asking someone to move a mountain."

"I can't help it," she murmured, "he makes me laugh."

At that, Raven's expression became serious. "I'm glad. I'm glad he makes you happy."

Ella looked up at her with a crooked smile. She suspected that everyone in camp knew that she suffered from depression and anxiety, but only Raven and Murphy – her two closest friends - knew just how bad. Her and Raven had only been close friends for about five years, not nearly as long as her and Murphy, but she felt just as comfortable around her as she was with him.

They had met in an engineering class that was provided for younger students. Both of them were very quiet as young girls, something that Raven had grown out of over the years.

Whenever they had to slit up into teams of two to work on a project, the other kids scrambled around to find a partner while Ella and Raven just sat there, inevitably getting put together by default. Eventually, when those times came, they just looked at each other expectantly, with Raven coming to sit beside her to start their project. They didn't really speak, but it was a comfortable silence when they worked together.

Ella had always been seen as a easy target for being so quite, and when Murphy was not around to protect her, she had been both verbally and physically abused by the kids in her class, especially so by a girl named Harper.

But, once she had met Raven, something about Ella had triggered a sort of protectiveness inside of her, and she had stood up for her on countless occasions when Murphy wasn't there to save the day.

Ella had always seemed so small and helpless to both of them, looking as though she would burst into tears at any moment. So, when she had proven at being very handy with a knife it had been very surprising everyone in camp, though caused some worry for both Raven and Murphy, allowing her to have access to something sharp.

It wasn't until the ninth grade that Raven had noticed Ella having an unusual liking for wearing bracelets that took up the entire expanse of her wrists. Even on nights that Raven would sleep over she would never take them off, not even to sleep

One night of those nights that Raven was allowed to sleep over, she woke up with the urge to relieve herself and got up to use the bathroom. Upon finding the door unlocked, she let herself in, only to find Ella standing in front of the sink with a small razor in hand, making a small slit across the expanse of her wrist.

When she saw Raven she dropped the razor into the sink, looking through the mirror at her with the most pitiful eyes Raven had ever seen. Raven had cleaned and bandaged her wrist for her as silent tears slid down Ella's face, neither of them saying a single word. She didn't berate Ella for doing this to herself, but just let her cry.

The next day, she had contemplated on whether or not she should tell Murphy. She was never very close with him – the only thing they had in common was that they both loved and cared about Ella, and she knew that she needed both of them then more than ever.

Raven only had one class with him however, so hung back as the hall emptied, trying to get a peak of the brown haired boy before he entered the class room. But, as the hall cleared, she stopped in her tracks when she saw not only Murphy left in the hall, but Ella as well.

She watched as he slid her bracelets down her arm, revealing the many scares on the girls wrists, then bending down and kissing one, then the other as the girl once again started to cry.

He knew.

The action was so tender and so loving that Raven felt as though she were intruding on a private moment, and slipped into the class unnoticed by the pair.

She looked down at the girls bracelets now, knowing that she had not stopped hurting herself. But, she had gotten better. Maybe not much better, but it was a start, and Raven would be there for her as long as she needed her.

"Come on," said Ella, looking a bit uncomfortable, and Raven was almost certain that she knew just where her thoughts had taken her. "I just need to clean up a bit and then I'll help you out in there."

And with that, she gave her a small smile and turned to walk to her tent.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Murphy Pov

After dumping his pack in his tent, Murphy immediately walked over to Ella's, which was placed directly beside his own.

In the beginning, they had planed to live in a tent together, but then figured that having to get dressed in the morning and than again at night would prove to be a hassle and altogether result in a privacy issue, so decided to take up separate tents.

After pulling the flap aside, Murphy ducked into the tent to find Ella standing by her messy "bed" which was nothing more than a blanket laid and tucked under a cushion of pine resulting in something resembling a mattress. She was holding a wet rag in her hand, scrubbing the dirt and sweat roughly off of her face that had built up during their hike, and making her cheeks pink.

She was wearing nothing but a tight white tank top and black shorts that hit way above mid thigh. Her hiking boots were kicked off by her pack along with her socks, leaving her in her bare feet. He wasn't sure whether or not he should leave or stay, not knowing if she wanted privacy or not.

Her deep blue eyes lit up when she saw him standing there like they always did when she looked at him, making his mind up for him. He strode over to her, unable to stop himself from kissing her on the top of her head, and then threw himself down on the bed with his hands tucked behind his head.

She smiled at him and tossed the wet rag away. "Bellamy give you the rest of the day off?" she asked before joining him on the bed, resting her head on his chest.

"Yeah, things are pretty slow. Now that the wall is built and there's enough food to last us for a good week before we have to go back out there, there really isn't much else to do."

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Ella Pov

Ella made a small noise in response as he started to play with her hair, an action that always sent a wave of calmness over her. She had already been tired upon reaching camp even though it was still only just past the middle of the day. The sun had yet to even begun to set, but nevertheless she felt her eyelids starting to droop against her will. She wanted nothing more than to take a long nap.

As Murphy continued to play with her hair, he talked to her about future plains that he had made with Bellamy and Miller to scout the area for more bunkers like the one that Bellamy and Clarke had found full of guns, her sleepy mind only comprehending a portion of what he was saying.

This was how their evenings usually went, her alone with Murphy, whether it was in her tent or his as he held her while he recounted his day or told her about preparations that had already been made, so that she was kept posted on things that Bellamy thought to be no ones business but his and Murphy's. But, he told her anyway – he never kept anything from her, so that she was never caught off guard if he ever had to leave camp without her. He knew that it made her feel safe.

She snuggled closer to him, burying her face in his shirt and breathing in his purely male scent. It had changed somewhat in the short time that they had spent on Earth. His original scent of peppermint and laundry detergent was now mixed with the scent of pine and muddy lake water. It almost made him seem tougher somehow.

It was in these moments that she loved him the most, and it was in these moments that she was afraid of him because of it. Or, maybe she was just afraid of herself. She had no idea what she would do without Murphy. Of course she had Raven, but it wasn't the same as the boy beside her. She loved Raven like a sister, but she needed Murphy like a human needs water to stay alive.

Life.

That was what he gave her.

Without him, she was afraid that she would completely loose the will to live. She knew things were bad, but she also knew that they could be monumentally worse when it came to the depression that she was suffering from.

He would tell her that he would never leave her, and that she would always have him to lean on, and she believed him. But, if only he knew how she felt about him.

It was a paradox in her head, the anxiety of not telling him, leading to the sadness of not being with him the way that she wanted to, but at the same time being afraid that if she did tell him that he would reject her, or worse, date her out of pity, all the while trapping him in a relationship that he really didn't even want to be in in the first place.

One of her many curses was over thinking things, and it only set her up for more anxiety, which was one thing that she could very much do without.

So, for now, she would keep her mouth shut and hope that it wouldn't harden into rock.

"Ella," whispered Murphy above her. "Are you still awake?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry," she said quickly as she realized that he must have asked her a question.

"It's okay, never mind."

She swung a leg over both of his to try to relax into a more comfortable position, shaking the dark thoughts from her head. His hand had stopped playing with her hair and instead began to rub slow soothing circles on her lower back.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, still in a whisper. "They should be starting the fires soon to cook the meat that the other team had brought back."

She smile at how he said "the other team" in a poorly hidden resentful voice. He didn't sound particularly enthusiastic about leaving the tent to join the other just yet, and truthfully, even thought her stomach felt completely empty, she wasn't exactly ready to leave the safety of his arms just yet.

"Not really," she lied.

Suddenly, he rolled over onto his side to face her, throwing an arm around her waste until they were nothing but a tangle of arms and legs. He stared deep into her eyes as if he were trying to read her mind with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Is there something wrong?" he finally said.

Her whole body stiffened at the simple question.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Just that you've been acting kind of weird lately whenever you're around me. Raven thinks that I'm going insane, but I feel like there's something your not telling me. You know that you could tell me anything, right?"

"How many times a week do you and Raven sit around, talking about how weird I am?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Don't try to change the subject."

Ella took a shaky breath, trying to collect all of the little courage she had around him.

"I'm fine," she huffed out.

"Well, I'm going to take that halfhearted response to mean that your in fact not fine, and in drastic need of my help."

"God, so dramatic," she said, rolling her eyes.

His light attitude took on a more serious face, the one that Ella knew that meant he was all business now.

"Seriously though, you know that you can talk to me about anything that's troubling you. Nothing you can say or do will ever change how I feel about you."

How he felt about her.

How did he feel about her?

Did he think of her as a sister, or was there more to it than that?

"I know - thanks," she said, wanting to end this conversation before she said something stupid.

* * *

 **A/N: I know that I said that the chapters would be longer, and I promise that most of them will be, but I have been prepping for my birthday party which is coming quicker than I thought as well as completely redecorating my entire bedroom to make if feel less "dungeon like". One thing I know for sure is that this is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I have a whole lot of respect for the people who have been successful in completing an entire book in just one month. It kicked my butt in just a few days! However, I promise that I will never leave you empty handed. ;D**

 **P.S. The chapters are about to get more interesting now that I got threw most of the boring old back-story stuff.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Murphy Pov

After emerging from Ella's tent, Murphy cracked his neck and walked over to the blazing fire in the middle of camp where a group of teenagers sat eating.

It was now pitch black outside. He had just woken from a much needed rest, with Ella still asleep where he had left her on her bed. He walked over to the blazing light, grabbing a piece of already cooked meat as he did.

"Hey man, sleep well?" said Miller suggestively, smirking at him as he sat himself down in between Jasper and Bellamy.

The only people left outside were Miller, Monty, Jasper, Bellamy and Raven, the rest of the camp having gone to bed long ago.

Murphy picked up a handful of dirt and threw it at him, receiving a yelp of surprise from the boy.

"Their just friends," said Monty helpfully.

"Please, do you see the way she looks at him? That girl wants a lot more than friendship-"

"Don't you have your own life? Oh, wait, what am I saying, of course you don't."

"Geez," said Miller, eyebrows raised. "Someones getting defensive."

"Leave him alone Miller," said Bellamy, rubbing his temples as if he had a headache.

Murphy's face was red hot with anger at Miller for talking about Ella like that. She was nothing but good to everyone she met, and still they had to make fun of her. Of course she didn't want anything more than friendship, the girl was as innocent as a flower.

"You're one to talk. I bet you couldn't even get Harper to give you the time of day," came Raven's voice.

"Like I would want her anyway. It wouldn't even be an accomplishment," he spit back.

He knew about Harper of course, the girl had given Ella a very hard time in school when they were little, but he was sure that they must have worked out their differences by now. At least he thought so seeing as Ella had not come to him about anything the girl done to her in a long time. But, than again, she had stopped talking to him about most of the things that had been bothering her recently, which concerned him greatly.

Most men would think of it as a relief not to have to hear a girl complaining to them about things that bothered them in everyday life, but he liked talking to her, he liked helping her with her problems. It made him feel better about himself in knowing that he could help at least one person in his life. That, even though he always seemed to screw up everything else, he would always have her to come back to. Someone who would forgive him for every bad thing that he had done. Keeping her in his toxic life was his greatest sin.

"He's right," said Jasper. "There are more boys in camp than there are girls, but even out of those few, Harper is at the bottom of the list when it comes to hard to get."

No one made a single move to defend the girl, expecaly Raven, who sat sat there with of look of dry amusement on her face at Jasper's comment. He guessed that it was due to the fact that she had never gotten over the hard time that Harper had given to Ella in school – girl-code or whatever.

"Hey, thought I heard my name," came Harper's voice out of nowhere as the girl slowly came out of the invisibility of the darkness, stepping into the light of the fire.

"What are we talking about?"

No one seemed particularly eager to answer that question.

She sat down next to Murphy, squeezing into the small space between him and Jasper, forcing them to make room for her. Miller, to get out of the awkwardness of things, started up a conversation with Bellamy about a new kind of animal trap that he had "invented", with Jasper soon joining in and Monty leaning over to listen without actually engaging in what they were talking about, Raven had gotten up to get another piece of meat seeming completely uninterested. Murphy stared into the flames of the fire, watching them lick at the sky and blow sparks into the air with a crack.

Harper leaned into him, looking at the other boys as she did to make sure they weren't paying attention, keeping her voice at a low volume.

"I see you come out of Ella's tent almost every night - you two aren't like, dating or anything are you?"

Murphy's eyebrows drew together at her question. "No, we're just friends. Why does everyone always assume we're dating?" he added the last part under his breath.

"I don't know, I just thought that I'd ask."

"Why?"

"Because, I wanted to tell you that I like you, and I wouldn't want to screw with yours and Ella's relationship if you _were_ dating."

That had Murphy very taken aback at the forwardness of the statement and made him wonder how quick he could bolt out of there.

"Uh, no, like I said, we're not dating, but-"

"Good! So, you are available. You know, I figured that you and Ella weren't dating, I mean, she's never had a boyfriend before, though I have no idea what she's waiting for-"

"Harper, I-"

"I am sorry, I'm rambling aren't I?" she said smiling and rolling her hazel eyes. "So, what do you say?"

"What do I say about what?" he asked in a bored voice.

"About you and me of course!" she whispered, exasperated.

"You and me?"

"Yes, us."

"Us?"

 _What's happening?_

"Yes, us," she said, her face turning red with annoyance.

"Yeah, um-"

"Great!" she exclaimed getting up from the log they were sitting on and looking down at him. "Well, I'm exhausted, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

She spun around so quickly that it made Murphy dizzy, and walked back to her tent.

Murphy just sat with his mouth open, the only thing snapping him out of it was the other boy's snickers and whistles.

"Harper? Really man, you could do so much better," said Miller dramatically.

"What just happened?" said Murphy with a blank expression.

"Really Murphy, you could have just told her no," said Raven with narrowed eyes.

"No I couldn't – that conversation kind of got away from me."

"Sorry man, looks like you're stuck," said Monty.

"Stuck?! Just tell the slut tomorrow that you're in fact not dating her and she needs do go pick on someone else," said Raven threw gritted teeth.

Murphy put his head in his hands, bending over, fearing he had caught Bellamy's headache, and trying to do something to ease the pain.

"It's to late for this," he groaned, standing up. "I'm going to bed. Maybe I'll wake up and this will all be a terrible nightmare," he added the last part with a lazy smirk.

"Hey, if you want, I could put her down for you. I would say that I would make it easy on her, but lets get real, I'm going to try to make her cry," said Raven.

"Goodnight Raven," said Murphy over his shoulder as he turned away and walked back to his tent.

His bed was a very welcome sight, but looked so empty now that he no longer had Ella to lay with.

Throwing himself down on the bed, he kicked his shoes off halfheartedly, leaving himself fully clothed. But, despite how tired he was, he just couldn't seem to get his mind to turn off.

He would deal with Harper in the morning, though what he was going to tell her was still a mystery to him. Did he really want to be with _Harper_? She had never been in an actual relationship with a guy before as far as he knew, so why him? He wasn't exactly the relationship sort of guy either, but something about spending so much time with Ella made him want to be. She was such a hopeless romantic, with this notion in her head that everyone had someone out there that they were meant to be with, though few ever found them (not that he thought Harper was his soul mate or anything, but at least he could try). Most of the books that she read were romance novels – those were always the ones that he got for her every year on her birthday, trading whatever personal items of his that he could find to get them for her. Sometimes when he stayed the night with her on those nights when sleeping alone in her tent frightened her, she would read them to him.

How she had managed to get them down to Earth was still a mystery to him, though he would bet that Raven had brought them down for her, seeing as he hadn't noticed them until after she came.

He tried to pretend that he didn't like the stories, but when she read them to him, her face seemed to glow and a smile came to her full pink lips.

Her smile.

That was something that he didn't get to see nearly enough. He loved her smile and tried to get one out of her every chance he got and still it was never enough.

Maybe being in a relationship wasn't the worst thing in the world. He was sure that Ella would approve of him at least trying at a committed relationship, even if it was with Harper.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ella Pov

As soon as Ella woke up she didn't even have to turn around to see if Murphy was still there, she knew he was gone. His presents was no loner there, and the bed suddenly felt very large. She wrapped her arms closer around herself, trying to fight off the crisp chill of morning air. She guessed that the sun had only just risen by the lazy glow coming threw the tent from the light outside.

She could hear the camp starting to come to life outside as one by one the residents of the camp started to wake. The noise was just enough that she didn't have a chance of falling back asleep.

With a groan, she rolled out of bed, standing still a moment as a wave of dizziness came over her and allowed her head to try to adjust to being upright.

Once the dizziness cleared, she started looking around for her cloths and shoes that had been thrown randomly about the room. Normally she would have been more careful with where she put her cloths for the night, but she had been so exhausted the day before that she handled them with a little less care than usual, telling herself that she would fold them nicely and put them in a pile before she went to bed. But, then Murphy had come over and, well, she was useless for the rest of the night.

She found her shirt next to her backpack and gave it a whiff.

 _Ugh, I really have got to clean my cloths,_ she thought.

After going on a scavenger hunt around her room for the rest of her outfit, she got dressed quickly in her worn black jeans, hunter green t-shirt and black boots that laced halfway up her shin, then pulled her long platinum hair back into a loose braid.

When she ducked out of her tent into the dim morning light, just as she guessed, she saw the fading sunrise still viable over the trees, a light fog spreading through the camp.

Only about seven or eight people could be seen from where she was standing, most of them sitting around the newly lit fire, trying to warm up a bit before they started their chores.

Ella looked around for any sign of Murphy, but guessed that he was still fast asleep. He had a terrible habit of sleeping until noon unless someone actually went in and shook him awake.

She figured that she would give him a little while longer to sleep, and started walking in the direction of Raven's tent. But, before she could even take more than two steps, her path was blocked by a girl with strawberry blond hair that was kept down, with a few braided strands tangled in it, a piece of cloth that acted as a headband was tied around the top of her head, holding it down. She was dressed in brown pants and a navy top and thermal jacket.

"Harper," said Ella wearily by way of greeting.

"Oh please, don't sound so enthusiastic to see me," said Harper sarcastically. "We missed you at the fire last night."

"Yeah?"

Ella could almost believe that she meant it if it weren't for the most fake smile she had ever seen plastered on the other girl's face.

"Yeah, me, Raven, Jasper Monty, Murphy- Oh my gosh, I almost forgot to tell you – Murphy and I are seeing each other now," she said with a satisfied smirk at the look of total and utter shock that came to Ella's face.

"W-what do you mean "seeing each other"?" she choked out.

"Oh, forgive me, I keep forgetting how naive you are, you see, when a women is interested in a man-"

But, Ella didn't stick around to find out the rest of what the other girl was going to say, darting straight for Raven's tent, her heart pounding loud in her ears.

 _This wasn't happening,_ she told herself.

When she got to Raven's tent, she flung the flap open so fast that it made the couple inside jump apart from what looked to be a very passionate kiss.

"Oh, sorry," she panted, too flustered to be embarrassed.

Raven smiled down at the ground, giving a breathless laugh before taking a good look at Ella, and seeing the state that she was in.

"Hey," she soothed, walking over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Ella, what's wrong?"

Ella shook her head, looking like she was about to cry. "What's going on between Murphy and Harper?"

Finn, murmured something about seeing Raven later and ducked out of the tent.

"Nothing," she said firmly, and walked over to the very messy bed in the corner of the tent to retrieve her jacket.

"B-but Harper just said-"

"She's just trying to mess with you like she always does. Murphy and Harper are _not_ an item, alright?"

Ella's brows drew together in confusion of her friends weird behavior. She was never so cross when she talked to her.

"Okay," said Ella in a small voice.

"I'm sorry," said Raven, walking back over to Ella and wrapping her up in a big hug. "I'm just in a bad mood and I'm taking it out on you."

"You didn't seem to be in such a bad mood when I walked in."

Raven smiled and pulled away, rolling her eyes. "Come on, let go get something to eat before Harper poisons all of the food," she said draping her arm around Ella's shoulders and leading her out of the tent.

* * *

Murphy Pov

When Murphy left Bellamy's tent after a long discussion about what Bellamy wanted of him for the day, he immediately went in search of Ella. He had not seen her on his way to the Dropship, and she would be a very welcome sight after the terrible night he had had last night. The nap he had taken had thrown him off greatly, but it had still been very worth it in his mind. But, that mixed with the wonder of what he was going to say to Harper the next time he saw her, kept him up most of the night and caused him to wake before the sun, when he had thrown his blankets off resentfully, got dressed and headed out of his tent to restart the fire where he had sat until Bellamy had woken.

He would avoid Harper for as long as he could, but he knew that that wouldn't last very long seeing as it wasn't a very big camp.

 _Maybe I could spend time with Ella somewhere out of camp_ , He thought.

The sun was completely up now, and the fog that he had noticed before had almost all vanished.

Just as he was about to head over to Ella's tent, he spotted a flash of white blond hair in the now busy camp, near the food table, where a kid he had yet to learn the name of stood serving out food to the hungry teens.

The corners of his mouth started to turn up at the corners when he saw her, but stopped himself before walking over, looking around camp for Harper. He spotted her by the fire that was now starting to die down to nothing but burning embers as they had no need for in now that it was starting to warm up.

Making his way carefully through camp and out of sight from anyone around the fire (or at least one girl in particular), he reached Ella who had just gotten her food and was now talking to Raven as they headed towards the side of the Dropship, away for the bustle around them.

"Hey, mind if I join you," he said upon reaching them.

Ella spun around right when she heard his voice to give him a small smile, though Raven was a little slower to react, turning slowly on her heels, looking annoyed.

"You're up," said Ella. "I thought that you would be asleep for at least another half-hour."

"I had a bit of a rough night."

Raven gave him a hard look, one he returned with a small shake of the head, silently telling her that he hadn't done anything about the current situation he was in.

"What?" asked Ella at her two friends behavior.

They both looked at the ground.

"Is this about Harper?"

At that, Murphy's head snapped up. "You told her!" he exclaimed, shooting a glare at Raven.

"I didn't tell her anything," she growled.

"You guys, what's going on?"

"Nothing," they said in unison.

"You two aren't together are you," she said in a small voice, trying her hardest not to let him see how badly she needed to know the answer.

"Would you care if I did?"

Raven looked like she wanted to punch him.

"I- of course not- why would I care?" she said in a rush.

 _He doesn't know that I like him does he?_

"I don't know. I just remember giving you kind of a hard time in school, so I didn't know if maybe you wouldn't want me to see her because of that."

Ella opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to make something, anything come out, but she just stood there with her cheeks growing hotter and hotter and her heart racing.

 _Just tell him, tell him not to be with her, tell him how you really fell. Just tell him him!_

"No, of course it's fine," the words left her mouth before she even knew that she was saying.

"What?! Ella, you can't be serious," said Raven.

Ella just stared at the ground.

"Well, if it's okay with you-"

 _I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry._

"What do you say about practicing our knife throwing later? Maybe we could get good enough to finally beat Bellamy the next time we go hunting," said Murphy, changing the subject, apparently satisfied with her answer.

Ella looked up at the boy she love and forced a smile on her face as a million tiny daggers stabbed her in the heart.

"Yeah," she said. "Sounds good."

* * *

 **A/N: You know how sometimes when you write a story and you start to get really attached to the characters and hate to let anything bad happen to them... Well, that's how I feel about Ella. I hate to break her heart, but alas that is how I wrote the storyboard and I have to stick to it. But, hold in there, I promise to leave you all with a satisfying ending. Well, okay, more like middle/ending. ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ella Pov

"Oh, come on, not even close!" exclaimed Ella.

After they had finished their work for the day they came out to the woods a little ways from camp for some target practice. Usually Bellamy or some of the other boys would come with them, seeing as they were all still new to the sport of hunting and could really use the practice. But, Clarke needed man power to set up a few things in the Dropship for a medical station, so they just slipped out on their own.

It was still pretty early, the sun just passing right overhead, drying the morning dew off of the wet forest floor. They had been out there for quite a while though neither of them knew exactly how long – they were having fun, and there was very little fun to be had here when all you did was work and worry about the never ending threats that kept them on their toes twenty-four/seven.

It was all Ella could do to push the thought of Murphy and Harper's – whatever was going on with them – out of her head. Just because he asked her if she would care if they were together didn't mean that they would for sure end up together, right?

Whatever the case, for now, she just wanted to treasure their time together. This moment where it was just her and Murphy and the trees.

"Yeah? At least I was closer than you," Murphy countered, pointing to the small notch that had been left in the tree by her dagger a half an inch away from his knife which was still stuck firmly in the tree.

They had carved a circle on a tree that stood a little farther away from the others to give them more room to throw, with an even smaller circle carved out in the center for a bull's eye, and they were currently trying to see which of them had the better aim.

At first they were just throwing to get some extra practice in, but, like it always did between the pair, it had quickly turned into a competition to see which of them had the best throwing arm, judging by the accuracy and force it hit the tree with.

They had been at it for over an hour now.

Ella giggled and walked over to their target tree, stopping a good ten feet away, then pulled out her dagger.

"Okay, fine. How about we make it a little more interesting," she said, carving an even smaller bull's eye in the middle of the smallest one already on the tree.

Murphy smirked. "Whoever hits the smallest bull's eye three times first gets to stay in the others tent tonight."

Ella narrowed her eyes in a mock serious way, walking over to him and reached out her. He took it and they shook hands, both trying to gain control of the handshake.

"You're on."

Ella knew that Murphy preferred to sleep in his own tent, but felt more at home when she was there with him. But, his room was always messy and so she on the flip side preferred that he stay in hers on the nights they spent together.

Ella was up first, and secured her gray beanie tightly on her head that she had brought from her tent before coming to prevent any loose strands of hair from falling into her face, and widened her stance. Her dagger was still out and she clutched it tightly in her right hand.

"You're going down Murphy," she said over her shoulder.

Bringing her blade up over her head, she twisted back and threw it forward with as much force as she could muster. It hit home.

"Yes! Take that!" she exclaimed, jumping up and shoving him playfully in the chest.

Murphy smiled and rolled his eyes as he retrieved her knife for her, handing it back. It was his turn. He took his stance where Ella had been a moment ago, taking his own knife out. He gripped the blade and copied her movements, twisting back with his arm over his head and let the blade fly. It just made it.

"Ha! You're not the only one who can throw here Rossetti."

She took her time in getting up as he went to get his knife, and they once again switched places.

Miss.

Murphy snickered when she hit right outside the target, earning himself a glare that only made him laugh harder.

"This is how it's done Rossetti. Just sit back and watch the master at work."

He stood there with a cocky air about him as he prepared to throw. His chest was puffed out and he gave Ella an award winning smile before throwing.

It bounced off the tree hilt first.

It was an even bigger miss than hers had been, not even hitting the old bull's eye with the hilt.

Ella scoffed and threw a pine cone at him.

"See where cocky gets you?"

"Alright, if you think you're so much better than lets see you make it twice in a row."

Ella smirked and sashayed over to him with a playful glint in her eyes and took her dagger back out. She lifted it carefully over her head and let loose, hitting perfect center.

She glanced over at Murphy and smiled sweetly at him.

"Whatever," he said, unable to help the small smile that came to his lips. "You still need one more to win."

He was already up taking his stance, he took extra care this time of where his feet were placed, and how he was holding his knife than he had before.

Bringing his knife up, he thrust it forward, hitting the target close to perfect center.

"Two to two. There's no way you're going to make it twice in a row. I got you now Rossetti."

"You're too cocky for your own good. Now, where did that get you last time?" she said, pouting her bottom lip and running her fingers down his chest as she walked past him. She didn't miss the shiver that went threw him or the small goose bumps that appeared on the skin exposed on his arms and a flicker of hope went threw her.

Maybe it wasn't to late after all.

Like him, she took extra care this time to make sure that everything was in order before lifting her dagger over her head and started to throw it forward when she felt a pine cone hit her in the back.

Ella spun around to face an innocent looking Murphy.

"Did you just hit me with a pine cone, to try to get me to miss?"

Murphy's lips were a thin line from the strain of trying not to burst out laughing.

She quickly slipped her dagger back into her belt and shoved him hard into a tree, causing the laughter that he was holding back to erupt forth. She then turned back, taking her dagger out again and threw it with perfect accuracy towards the target.

It hit center.

"Yes!" she she squeald, thrusting both fists into the air.

"Ugh," Murphy groaned dramatically, falling to his knees.

Ella giggled and skipped over to him, pushing his shoulders with both hands and making him fall onto his back. She straddled his waist, bending over, bracing one palm on the side of his face on the ground and started tickling him with the end of her braid like she did when they were kids.

"How does it feel to lose _so hard_?" she grabbed both of his cheeks and pinched them.

Murphy growled, shaking his head free of her fingers and tickled her sides, making her laugh and squirm.

He suddenly rolled them over so that she was the one pinned under him, continuing to torments her, not quite willing to give in just yet, placing small kisses all over her face. He only stopped when her face turned so red and her laughs became so strained that he was afraid for her breathing.

She coughed as she tried to stop laughing, and gulped down some much needed air.

When she got control of herself she smiled up at him, a smile that he returned before he laid down half on top of her, trying not to crush her with his weight, and wrapping his muscular arms around her waist, nuzzling his face into her neck, He buried it in her hair so he could breath in her scent. She smelled so good. She always smelled so good, even after working all day long.

Him on the other hand.

The air was only getting hotter, the sun shining down on them bright in the summer sky, but neither of them felt particularly eager to move to a shadier area.

A symphony of animal noises could be heard coming from every direction, all singing at once as the trees rustled their leaves.

Murphy took a deep breath in, getting another whiff of the girl beside him. He always felt so calm when he was with her. Even in their little games, that were always lighthearted lifted his spirits. He was so glade he had her. He had no idea what he would have done all these years if he had been forced to bare through them without her.

The reason she had been sent to the Skybox was all his fault, she had only been sticking up for him during one of his many slips ups. The man he had been trading with had been trying to cheating him out of a book that he was trying to get for Ella, and had gotten too riled up. When the fight had become physical he had been pulled off of the man by The Guard who they said he had fought from. When he had been taken away, they crossed Ella in the hall who had demanded what was happening to him. When she didn't get an answer from them, she had tried to pulled them off of him despite Murphy's attempts to tell her to go back to her unit. They had tased her small body unnecessarily and locked her away as well. He shivered just thinking about her body going limp and hitting the floor as the electric current went threw her.

She sighed now and tangled her fingers in the hair at the back of his neck. She genitally played with it, messaging his scalp and pulling lightly on sections of hair, eliciting a moan of pleasure from him. She knew that he liked this. Whenever he didn't feel good she would sit him down and play with his messy brown hair until he fell asleep. It was an action they both loved. Neither one of them had any parents or siblings, Murphy having lost his dad and mother just a year before he was put in the Skybox, and Ella losing her mother giving birth to her and her father close to the same time that Murphy had lost his father. So, they took care of each other.

"Ella..." Murphy whispered.

"Yes?"

Eyes that he hadn't even realized he had closed popped open at the realization that he said her name out loud. This made him very embarrassed for some odd reason, so he tried to think of something to say.

"We should probably go back," he hated himself for ruining the moment.

"No," she moaned, scooting down his body (not an easy task when she was laying underneath him) and burying her face in his chest.

He chuckled and held her tighter to him and kissed the top of her head, hearing her hum of approval.

"Though, I guess a few more hours couldn't hurt," he whispered in her ear.

* * *

 **A/N: *Sigh* I just couldn't help myself.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I know that some of you are getting kind of restless, but I really wanted most of this story to be angst, so I started with a more fluffy beginning. You guys are probably going to hate me, but patients my friends, the angst will fade into the romance portion soon enough. Don't worry, I'll speed things along faster than I intended to, because I'm pretty sure that if I don't than I will be tracked down by hancali17 and Little Bucky (who, by the way are two very good writers) and kill me in my sleep. I love reading your reviews - they make me smile. :) Thanks for your support 3**

* * *

Chapter 7

Murphy Pov

As soon as Murphy entered his tent he threw his shirt off and went straight for the bucket of water that he kept in his tent and picked up the rag that hung off the side of it. The sun had completely dried the wet mud leaving behind dry dirt that stuck to his skin like dust and made him itchy all over, and was now sporting many scratch marks on his pale skin.

After washing his face, he started on his arms and hands, until he was satisfied that he had gotten as much of it off as he could without taking an actual bath in the lake.

One of the things that he missed most about living in space were the showers. What he wouldn't give to take a hot shower right now. But, he preferred it down here, and it wasn't just because of the lack of authority around, but because something about this place, even in the short time that he spent here, felt like home more than the rest of his life had spent on the Ark.

He kicked off his shoes, his bare feet hitting the cool dirt floor where it was packed down nicely from weeks spent walking threw it, so that it no longer stuck to his feet when he walked.

He sat on the edge of his bed, propping his head in his hands and closing his eyes as tiredness crept up on him. He was careful not to get too comfortable though seeing as he had lost the bet and would be sharing Ella's tent with her tonight.

He should have known by now not to challenge her when it came to knife throwing, that girl hit the target almost every time. She could beat Bellamy any day when it came to hunting just like she always did in practice if it weren't for the fact that they always seemed to get distracted.

He didn't know that while he sat there with his head in his hands that the tents flap had opened and someone had entered, until he heard a throat clearing, causing him to snap his head up to find Harper standing in the middle of his tent.

He sighed inwardly.

"I actually wanted to talk to you," he said hoisting himself to his feet with a grunt.

"Yeah, I could tell by the way you were avoiding me all morning and afternoon," she said not without humor.

He had to stop himself from glaring at her.

"I wasn't avoiding you-"

 _Yeah I was_

"-I just had a few things that I needed to take care of."

"Like spending quality time with Ella."

He just stared at her, expressionless.

"Never mind – it really doesn't matter. I just thought that I might have come on a bit strong last night and I wanted to clear the air. I know that you're not a traditional guy when it comes to girls, and neither am I with guys, but I want to try to be, and I think that you're really cool. It's so hard to find someone who you can trust – someone whose generally a good person. And, I know no one's perfect, but I see the way you are with Ella. You're loyal and kind to her and that's all you can really ask for in a guy, right?"

As she was saying this, she was walking closer and closer to him, until she was standing right before him, so close that they were almost touching.

He cleared his throat. "Harper, look-"

"-Don't you want to at least give it a try?" she interrupted before he could reject her. "This whole relationship thing it's so new, and honestly, I don't really know how it works, but all we can do is try. I like you and I think that maybe you like me, so lets _try_."

When she had first walked into his tent, he had been prepared to fend her off, but some of the things that she was saying were dauntingly close to the things that he had been telling himself last night. He did want something more than just one night stands, he wanted to believe that what Ella had always told him was true, that love really did exist. But, did he want to see if he could find that with Harper? Maybe – Maybe he did want to give them a chance.

"I hardly even know you," he said.

"But, we could change that. The things you've heard of my past, I'm sure were mostly bad, but no one's really as bad as their rumors."

"Don't worry, I never really take other peoples opinions into consideration anyway," he said, making her smile.

"So, does that mean you'll try? Or at the very least try to get to know me?"

"Okay," he said.

"That was kind of underwhelming," she said sarcastically, but the smile on her face took any bite out of it.

The corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile.

"I think you're pretty cool too. I would like to give this a chance," he said, waving a hand in between them.

She gave him a small smile. "We're not very good at this are we?"

At that his half-smile turned into a full one, and he looked at the ground, then at the side of his tent, then back at her.

"No, I guess we're not."

"Hey, do you think some time you could teach me how to throw a knife? I've wanted to learn ever since you guys had gone out on your first hunting trip, you know, getting to be out in the world and all that, and not being confined to one place. It's almost like we're back on the Ark – not very many places to go but here, unless you want to die."

Murphy almost laughed at the blunt but true comment. He had thought the same thing more than a few times before.

"Yeah, sure," he said. "Sounds like fun."

"Cool, than it's a date."

After that, they talked for a while, sitting on his bed, but neither of them made a move to touch the other, they just sat there and talked. Murphy had learned a lot about the girl that he hadn't known before, such as, like him, she too had lost both of her parents, though she had at a much younger age. He had also learned that she had been sent to the Skybox for stealing food to feed her sister, who had become ill despite the girls efforts to keep her healthy. Her sister was the only living family that she had left, so she had tried desperaetly hard to keep her around.

When she talked about her sister, he could tell how close they had been, and he had understood. Her sister to her was like Ella was to him – her anchor.

"So, what happened to her?" he asked. "Did she get better."

Harper didn't answer for so long that he thought that maybe she wasn't going to, until-

"I have no idea. They wouldn't let her come visit me, let alone tell me how she was doing. It was like they didn't even care either way. Now that I think about, they probably didn't, all they could ever think about was saving air," she said sadly.

Murphy stared at the ground, not saying anything.

"You know, you haven't told me much about yourself. You must be getting bored of listening to me rant on and on about my pathetic life."

He gave her a wry smile. "I don't really talk much."

"I see you talk to Ella all the time."

This was far from the first time that she had brought up Ella's name and it was starting to give him a weird feeling, though he couldn't say why.

"You're not jealous of her are you?" he asked.

She looked taken aback at that. "Jealous of who, Ella? God no. Why would you say that?"

"Because you've brought her name up more than a few times already, and, I don't no, I thought maybe because we spend so much time together that-"

"Don't worry, I'm not one of those psycho girls who gets jealous every time a guy she likes talks to another girl. I'm not that attached, yet."

"Yet?"

She laughed and hit him in the arm, than stood and stretched seductively, letting out a small sigh.

"Well, I'm glad that we got to talk, but I promised Monty that I would take his place at the food table."

He stood up as well, walking halfway to the tent flap to see her out, but before he got there he turned around to face her again.

"It was really nice talking to you. I'll see you later?"

She smiled and closed the distance between them, kissing him firmly on the lips, just as the tent to the flap opened once again, and a smiling Ella walked in.

Murphy was in such a state of shock that he didn't even hear her come in, and after a beat, he started kissing Harper back.

When they finally broke the kiss, Harper wrapped her arms around his neck, holding one hand on the back of his head, gripped in his long hair.

"I enjoyed it too," she whispered in his ear, eyes firmly trained on a stunned looking Ella, who didn't seem to be breathing, with eyes as big as saucers.

 _He's mine,_ Harper mouthed at her, taking joy in the way Ella spun around, as tears filled her blue eyes.

* * *

 **A/N: … Please don't hate me, I've had this story planned out for a long time – I really have.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ella Pov

Ella darted through the gates, not stopping when she heard Miller calling after her, but ran as fast as she could. She didn't take one of the paths that they had made for hunting, but went right through the thick growth of trees, tears streaming down her face. She had no clue where she was going, nor did she care if she got lost. All she wanted was to get as far away from camp as possible.

She ran for so long that her muscles were on fire, but she ignored the pain and kept going – it was nothing compared to the pain of see Murphy kissing the girl who had made her life one full of misery and torment.

Her eyes were so blurry from the water pooling them that she didn't see the large root sticking out of the ground in front of her until she tripped over it and hit the ground with a hard thump.

She didn't make a move to get up, she just curled up in a ball and cried like her heart was breaking. Because, it was.

"Ella!" called a female voice behind her.

Ella just kept crying.

"Ella!" cried Raven as she broke through the trees to find her best friend laying on the forest floor. "What happened."

There was a motherly concern in her voice as she pulled Ella's head and torso up against her chest, cradling her like a little girl. And, she let her – it was comforting.

"Shh, it okay, everything's going to be okay," she soothed.

Ella tried her hardest to stop crying – she hated crying in front of other people and usually waited until she hit her pillow at night to do so when she was having a bad day. It took a lot of effort, but after a while her sobs were reduced to hiccups, with slight tears still streaming down her face, her eyes puffy and red.

"There, that's a girl. Now, tell me who did this to you so that I can beat the living crap out of them."

If she were capable of laughing, she would have at that totally Raven way of trying to comfort someone.

"Murphy – and Harper," she gasped out between hiccups.

"I thought that's what this was about, I saw you leaving his tent in tears. I'm going to kill him when we get back to camp," she paused and sighed. "Ella, do like Murphy?"

Tears started to form in Ella's eyes again and she buried her face in Raven's shirt.

Raven hugged her tighter. "I thought so. Ella, you are so beautiful and so kind, and when you feel things, you feel them with all your heart – happiness, sadness... love. I've known you've loved Murphy for a long time, and you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You see things in people that no one else does, and bring out the best in them. He would be good for you. You would be good for each other."

"It's to late now," whispered Ella into her shirt.

"It's never to late to tell someone how you really feel."

"But, what if he doesn't like me that way? If he did, he would have said something by now, not go off with someone else ...I don't want to lose him."

"Believe me, I know better than most about what you're going threw. I went through the same thing with Finn. We were best friends since we were kids, but the older we got, the more I realized that what I felt for him was much more than just friendships. Guys have a harder time with expressing how they really feel than girls do. Most of them find it a trait that doesn't need to be bothered with. If it wasn't for me, I don't think that Finn and I would be together now."

"Really?"

"Really."

"How did you do it? How did you tell him that you wanted to take your friendship further?"

Ella had stopped crying now, and her hiccups were starting to slow. She reached up to rub the rest of her salty tears from her eyes and face, making her eyes even redder.

At her question, Raven laughed and scratched her head.

"We didn't talk about it really. I just kissed him."

"Just like that?" Ella smiled.

"Just like that. God, I don't even remember what we were talking about at the time, I just remember him looking so cute and something just came over me. I just leaned in and kissed him."

"What did he do?" asked Ella, with wide eyes, like always, paying close attention to the story.

"He pushed me away and wiped his mouth with hand sanitizer."

Ella scoffed. "Come on Raven, I'm serious."

"... He kissed me back, and it was perfect," she said with a small smile, staring off in the distance, deep in the memory of their first kiss. "It was worth every minute I spent worry over what would happen if I let him know how I really felt. But, I could have been happier a whole lot sooner if I hadn't doubted myself for so long."

Ella sat up straight and rested her back up against the wide tree that Raven was up against, the one that was connected to the root she had tripped over earlier. She looked over at Raven, her head tilted back against the rough bark and Raven did the same.

"I'm glad I have you," said Ella.

"I got your back sister," said Raven sticking her fist out. Ella smiled and fist-bumped her.

"Hey, whatever happened to you helping me out with my bullets yesterday?"

Ella moaned, picking up her head and hit it against the tree non to lightly, closing her eyes.

"I completely forgot. I'm so sorry," she said looking back at Raven.

"Don't worry about it, I had Monty to cover for you."

"You really have got to stop leading him on, or he'll start to think that he actually has a chance with you."

"Ah, he knows he doesn't, but yeah, your right, like always."

"So, you'll stop?"

"Of course."

"No you won't," said Ella smirking.

Raven laughed.

"No, I won't. Its not like it's doing any harm"

"Uh, somehow I think that it is doing harm."

Raven smiled and shook her head, getting to her feet, then extended her arm out to Ella. She took it and Raven hoisted her to her feet and smacked her on the butt like only her best friend ever did.

Ella frowned when she looked back in the direction she had just come from.

"I don't want to go back yet."

Raven gave her a half-smile. "We don't have to. I'm pretty sure that no one knows which direction you went in, and will take over an hour to track us down, since I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one who ran after you right away, so was able to keep up."

"Do you know where we are?"

"No, not exactly. I mean, you did a good job of running in one direction, so I'm pretty sure how to get back, but I could be wrong. There's really no way of knowing for sure," said Raven with a sly smile. "But, like I said, they'll be tracking us down, so for now, our time is our own."

Ella gave her a grateful smile, knowing exactly what the girl was doing and loved her for it. Of course Raven was navigating through the forest as she had ran after her, she was way to careful not to, but was prepared to give her all the time she needed to gather herself up again. And she would need all of her courage to step back into that camp.

"So, you know what they say, if your lost, you might as well explore," said Raven. "I know of this small pond about a mile from here, want to go?"

"I thought you said you didn't know where we are," said Ella bumping her in the shoulder.

"Hey, do you want to go or not, because if not we could stand here and shout and see if someone will find us," said Raven sarcastically.

"I don't know how to swim."

"Neither do I, but we can practice. You don't have to go in all the way if you don't want to, there's a small log that hangs a little ways over the river, you can just sit there, dip your feet in and relax. It'll be good for you," she added the last part more seriously.

"Alright."

Ella brushed the rest of the leaves and dirt off of her pants and followed Raven's sure steps threw the forest, though how she knew where she was going, Ella couldn't say. There didn't seem to be anything that Raven couldn't do and that went double for navigating.

It was starting to get kind of late, but there was still a good few hour left of daylight, so Ella wasn't worried about being stuck out in at night. Instead, she tried to relax and keep her mind on the beauty of Earth, something she never though she would ever see.

Her legs were still sore from running, but the walk to the pond didn't take very long at all.

Everything was so still here, fenced in all around by trees. There were small colorful flowers that grew near the water, and lily pads of all different sizes floated on top. Smooth rocks surrounded the pond, that tiny insects crawled on top of and then under, disappearing then reappearing in another place.

When they reached the log that Raven had described, they both kicked off there shoes and waited into the water, the level reaching up to Raven's shins and Ella's knees, the coolness of it bringing instant relief to her aching feet.

Ella turned her back to the log and used her arms to hoist herself up onto it, watching as Raven did the same. They both scooted down the log where it dipped down so that they could place there feet back into the water to their ankles.

Ella sighed and tipped her head up to the sun, resting back onto her hands. "How did you know this was here?"

"I found it when I was hiking to the wreck in search of some more fuel. I marked the trees back there so that I could find my way back, didn't you notice them?"

Ella gave her a look.

"Right, sorry," she said apologetically. "You should bring Murphy here sometime. It's quiet and romantic, I think he would really like it, and I would be more than happy to share it with you and him."

Ella roll her eyes, smiling. "You're so much more optimistic about this whole thing than I am."

"Because, you two are obviously perfect for each other, and if he says otherwise, than I'll just have to beat him up."

"Something tells me that you're going to beat him up either way the next time you see him."

"Don't expect anything less," Raven smiled sweetly.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Ella Pov

"Raven, we should really go back," said Ella, looking around, worry painted all over her face.

They had stayed out longer than Ella thought they would and it was getting pretty dark out. The space around them was still clearly visible, but she knew that it would be less so under the cover of the trees. She had enjoyed watching the sunset with Raven and had had the time she needed to calm herself down to the point that she was ready to head back to camp and what (or more like whom) lay inside.

"Don't worry, the boys will be here any second, and they'll bring torches with them. It's only getting darker and we won't make it all the way back before the sun is completely gone. I won't be able to see the marks I put on the trees anymore," said Raven, confident that they wouldn't be left out here to die.

"Okay. I'm trusting you."

Before Ella finished her sarcastic comment, she heard a shout from deep in the woods that sounded an awful lot like Bellamy.

"Told you," smirked Raven.

Ella shook her head. "Come on. Let's go meet them, I'm starting to get hungry.

Raven nodded and hopped off the log that they still sat on and waited for Ella to jump down as well before they both trudged back through the water to retrieve their shoes.

As Raven started to pull on her boots she stiffened and straitened back up before the first one made it all the way on her foot.

"What is it?" asked Ella, following Raven's gaze into the woods, but was unable to see anything that would frighten her friend.

"Nothing. I thought I heard something, but it was probably nothing. Come on, lets go," she rushed out.

Ella looked at her with suspicious eyes, but said nothing, and finished putting on her boots.

Once they were ready, they took off in the direction that the shouts were coming from, not bothering to shout back and create anymore noise than they were making already. It really wasn't a good idea to be drawing so much attention to themselves, but Ella figured that they were worried about them, and was almost sure that when they found them, they would find both Murphy and Finn in the search party.

The woods were so dark that it was hard to see more than four feet ahead of them, and every few seconds they would hear a twig snap, making Raven jump five feet in the air, which surprised Ella greatly. Raven really wasn't the jumpy type.

Raven Pov

Raven was almost sure that she had seen two, what appeared to be human eyes in the woods when she had bent down to put on her shoes, and could still feel them on her at this very moment.

Maybe she was being paranoid. But, no, she saw them, she was sure of it.

They hadn't glowed, or had given her any other reason to believe that she had just seen an animal, but had something distinctly human about them. And, now, every step she took, she could feel them following her. She wasn't going to tell Ella what she had seen however, there was really no need for both of them to be terrified beyond belief.

The shouts were getting louder now, and an orange light could be seen threw the thick growth of leaves.

"Raven, Ella!"

 _Finn_.

"Ella, Raven!"

 _Murphy_.

Something about the order that the boys had said their names in made Raven want to laugh, and helped to take some of her fear away.

"Over here!" she called.

Running footsteps could be heard now as the light got closer and closer, illuminating the boys faces; Murphy, Finn, Bellamy, Miller and surprisingly, Monty all broke through the trees, a look of relief of their faces that was tripled on Finn's and Murphy's.

"Thank God," whispered Finn as he scooped Raven into a big hug. "Never scare me like that again."

Raven hugged him back just as eagerly, feeling safe from what was in the woods when she was in his arms.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Ella needed me, and I didn't even think twice to go help her. We didn't mean to be gone for so long."

Finn rested his cheek on the top of her head.

"It's alright. I love you," he said.

"I love you too."

Ella Pov

As soon as Ella saw Murphy a million emotions went through her at once: longing, fear, sadness, and as he scooped her up in his arms, love. Why did she have to fall so deeply for this man?

"Are you okay?" he asked shakily.

"I'm fine."

"We've been looking for you two for over three hours, Bellamy was talking about having to go back to camp soon and try again in the morning. There was no way I was going to leave you out here all alone."

She could feel his heart racing under his shirt, and for some reason this made her feel good, knowing that she could get this kind of reaction out of him.

"I wasn't alone," she said. "Raven was with me."

"That doesn't mean it's safe out here for you two. What you I do if something happened to you?" he whispered only loud enough so that she could hear.

"Well, I'm fine, really, I'm okay, you don't have to worry," she murmured, pulling out of his embrace, not knowing how much longer she could stay in it without exploding.

"What happened?"

She looked at the ground, hoping that the light from the torches that Bellamy and Miller were carrying didn't catch the hurt look that crossed her face.

"I don't know. I guess I was just having a bad day," she whispered at the ground.

"It's not like you to be that careless," Bellamy butted in. "Miller said that he saw you running out of camp like you were being chased by a wild dog."

"Hey, how about we all keep talking about this in the middle of the Grounder infested woods instead of going back to the safety of camp," said Raven bitterly, coming to her rescue.

Bellamy glared at her, but decided that she was right and turned around to light the way back to camp.

The walk was a long and unpleasant one. She hadn't realized exactly how far they had run until they had to retrace her steps to get back to camp. Of course they had to go much slower in the dark, and Ella figured that it would be after midnight by the time that they actually reached camp, and the bed she had waiting for her.

"Somethings wrong Ella, tell me what it is so I can fix it," Murphy whispered as the two of them dropped back like they always did, but were sure to stay close enough to be able to see where they were going.

"I don't want to talk about it, I just want to forget it," she whispered back.

"I'm not just talking about today. Something has been bothering you for a long time now and I haven't said anything about it until now. I knew that I should have said something sooner. Does the reason you ran from camp have anything to do with what's been going on? I'm worried about you."

"You don't have to worry about me."

"Yes I do. You would tell me if things were getting bad again wouldn't you? You would let me know so that I could help you."

"I told you, I'm fine," she said, proud of herself for not letting her voice break through this whole conversation, and decided to stick to saying as little as possible to keep it that way.

She just wanted this conversation to end.

She could feel Murphy's eyes on her, but didn't turn to meet his gaze. She just stared at the fire a few feet in front of her, that was held by Miller, the flames reflecting in her eyes, and strained her ears to hear any noises from camp to tell her that they were close.

The most of the trip had been made in silence after that, Murphy apparently taking the hint and dropping it. But, she knew that this conversation was far from over, and it was only a matter of time before he brought the topic up again.

Eventually Finn let Raven go once he was sure that she was unharmed, and she dropped back to walked beside Ella, opposite Murphy.

"Murphy, can I talk to Ella for a second?' she asked, peaking her head around Ella's body to look at him. Her eyes held no question, only a demand that he let her talk to her.

Murphy looked reluctant, not moving until Ella nodded at him to let her talk to Raven in private. An unreadable look passed over his face as he moved to to stand beside Miller, both him and Finn looking back every once in a while to make sure that they were still there.

"You told Finn what really happened didn't you?" said Ella before Raven even opened her mouth to speak.

Raven winced. "He wouldn't have let this one slide, I think I really scared him. Don't worry, he can keep a secret."

Ella nodded, too tired to care who knew at this point.

"What did you tell Murphy?"

"Nothing," she sighed.

"And he excepted that? Wow, I though he would at least tried to push the topic a bit."

"I think he knows by now when to push and when to let things go. I'm sure that this isn't going to be the last I hear of it though."

"You have to tell him," said Raven firmly.

"I can't," she whisper-screamed. "Can't you see that?"

Raven paused at Ella's harsh tone that came out of nowhere. It was something that didn't happen often.

"Okay," said Raven. "Just remember, the longer you wait, the longer it's going to hurt."

As soon as the torches light hit the gates Ella felt her legs buckle under her, the only thing stopping her from falling to the ground was Raven's grip on her arm. She was so emotionally and physically drained that she didn't think that she had it in her to take another step.

Bellamy shouted something over the fence and a second later the gates swung open, revealing the camp.

After promising Finn that she would come to bed in a minute, Raven helped Ella walk to her tent, but stopped when Murphy put a hand on her shoulder, seeming to come out of nowhere.

Raven looked at her.

"I'll see you in the morning," said Ella.

Raven hugged her, then turned and walked back to her tent, but not before giving Murphy a look of pure hatred.

"I'll deal with _you_ tomorrow," she promised him.

"What did _I_ do?" he said to no one in particular.

"Did you need something?" asked Ella quietly with a fake yawn. "I really need to get to bed."

"Alright, we can talk in the morning. Let's go to bed."

He made a move as if to join her in her tent like they had planned earlier, but she stopped him.

"I think I want to sleep alone tonight," she said staring at his chest so she didn't see the looked of disappointment that crossed his face.

"Why not?"

She shrugged.

"Ella please, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" he pleaded with her.

She couldn't take it anymore. She could feel the tears stinging the backs of her eyes.

"Goodnight Murphy," she said and ducked into her tent, climbing right into bed so that she could have a good cry.

* * *

 **A/N: As requested, you shall soon get your Murphy/Raven showdown. ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: If it seems like I am dragging this out, it's because I have decided that I am going to make this a book of at least forty chapters, and so it is going to take me past the end of August when I had stated previously that I wanted it to end. I really think that I can turn this story into something really interesting for you guys! Just because this story will take me a bit into September doesn't mean that I am going to take time off, but you can still expect chapters from me every day, and maybe even two in one. Thank you so much for your support, I really hope that I can make this story live up to your expectations. 3**

* * *

Chapter 10

Raven Pov

Raven woke up with Finn's strong, muscular arm draped over her chest, the feeling familiar and safe. Her back was snugly pressed against his front, and Raven took the hand that was in front of her and intertwined her fingers with it. She felt him squirm around behind her, but didn't think that he was completely awake yet.

She had thought a lot about the other night in the woods, the scene of her and Ella walking back to retrieve their shoes after resting by the pond to see two eyes watching them flashed across her mind over and over, making it almost impossible to sleep.

It wasn't so much as the thought that she had seen someone watching her, but the thought she had seen those eyes somewhere. She hadn't been very far away, but had only gotten a quick look of them before they disappeared back into the woods. Still, there was something so familiar about them, and the thought ran a chill up her spine, giving her goose bumps.

"Are you cold?" came Finn's voice from behind her, letting her know that he was awake.

He brought the blankets farther up her waist and tightened his arm around her, nuzzling her neck. Raven smiled as he began placing lazy, chaste kisses on her throat.

She smiled, snuggling back into him as far as she could, wanting to get as close to him as physically possible. She sighed and arched into the innocent kisses as his other arm came around her waist as well so that he could hold her. His long air that was in very bad need of a cut as it was starting to hit his shoulder tickled her face and neck, but she didn't mind, or try to push it out of the way.

He stopped kissing her so that she could turn around in his arms, and looked at her with all of the love and care in the world.

"You're sure you're okay?" he asked for what felt to her to be the one-millionth time, and had given her a very thorough inspection last night before they had gone to bed.

She smiled and shook her head with fake frustration. "I'm fine Finn. If you want to worry about someone, than you should worry about Ella."

Finn gave her a lopsided smile and kissed her on the nose.

"Murphy's a smart guy, he'll come around."

"Murphy's an idiot if he can't see what's right in front of his big nose," said Raven bitterly, making Finn laugh at how cute she looked when she was angry.

"Maybe you should talk to him," she said, perking up.

Finn winced. "Guy's don't really talk about that kind of stuff."

"Please," she said sweetly, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout.

"I don't think that he would even listen to me."

"He would listen to you better than he would listen to me. If you don't want to talk about your feelings, than just tell him what a terrible person Piper is, and tell him how great you think Ella is."

She could tell by the look on his face that she was slowly breaking his resolve.

"Maybe," he said finally.

"Maybe, or for sure?"

Finn laughed. "Alright, fine, I''ll talk to him. But, don't get your hopes up, alright?"

"Thank you!" she said, jumping out of bed, after kissing him on the lips, and hauling her cloths and boots on.

Finn sat on the bed as he watched her get dressed and leave, leaving him wondering what he had just gotten himself into.

When Raven stepped out of the tent, she walked over to the main part of camp, at first in search of Ella, but suddenly caught sight Murphy out of the corner of her eye, and immediately changed course.

Sure, she was going to let Finn talk to him, but decided that maybe she would warm Murphy up a bit first.

Stomping over to him, she caught him just before he was about to walk up the walkway to the Dropship with a firm hand on his shoulder, trying to push down at least a fraction of the hate that she felt for him at the moment, so that she could speak to him with a clear head.

"Hey," she said when he turned around to look at her with an unsure expression.

"Hey?"

"Going to talk to Bellamy?"

"Did you really stop me to make small talk?" he asked sounding bored by her question.

"No, I just wanted to tell you something," she said innocently.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"How dare you?" her voice suddenly took on a predatory sound.

Murphy looked taken aback.

"How dare I what?"

Raven paused.

She couldn't give away Ella's secret. It was up to her when she was ready to tell him, but at the very least she had someone to take her anger out on until that happened.

Her face got redder and redder as she looked at him, and she could have sworn that he recoiled at the purely feral look in her eyes, and was pretty sure that she looked like a crazy person.

Before she even knew what she was doing, she drew her fist back and punched him square in the jaw.

Taken by surprise, Murphy was to late to block her and dropped to the ground from the force that she put into the punch. When he held his hand up to his lip, he winced as it came away bloody.

A look of shock passed over his expression that was soon taken over by anger and scrambled quickly back to his feet, looking like he wanted to hit her back. But, she knew that despite all of his imperfections, he would never hit a woman.

"Wow, wow, wow," said Finn, coming in between Murphy and Raven. Forever the peace maker.

"What on Earth is this about?" he asked, eyes on Raven.

At that time, Bellamy appeared from inside the Dropship at hearing the commotion outside.

She could her the snickers of Miller and Jasper from behind her at Murphy being punched by a girl, but ignored them.

"What's going on out here?" bellowed Bellamy in his growly voice.

"Nothing, all's good," said Raven directing her gaze first to Finn than to Bellamy.

Bellamy slowly waked down the opened Dropship door that make-shifted as the walkway toward the small group that was forming to see what was going on.

Ella pushed her way threw the crowed, past Raven, straight to Murphy to check out his bleeding lip, worriedly chewing at her bottom lip.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Fine," he said harsher than he had intended to, do to embarrassment.

She pulled her hand back, looking hurt and turned to Raven, the first acknowledgment she had given her.

"You punched him?" she said in disbelief having not have been there when it had actually happened. "Why?"

Raven gave her a look, explaining clearly why she had done it, making Ella's checks turn bright pink.

"Alright, enough of the show. Get back to work!" Bellamy shouted over the excited murmuring voices.

Disappointed, everyone dispersed back to whatever chore they had left, Bellamy, apparently satisfied that the fight wouldn't continue, went back to what he had been doing, too.

Murphy watched him walk back threw the flap of canvas that had been hung over the open door, annoyed that he apparently wasn't going to punish Raven for punching him.

"I'm going to go wash the blood off my face, I'll see you later," he said to Ella, ignoring Raven all together.

"You didn't have to punch him," said Ella quietly once she was sure Murphy was out of earshot.

"Yes, I did."

"No, you didn't" said Finn firmly behind her, causing her to jump, thinking that he had left as well. "I thought that we agreed that I was going to handle this."

"Handle what?" asked Ella, confused.

"Just some guy stuff."

Finn scoffed.

"Guy stuff that requires punching?"

"Well, no, not if Finn was the one to do it," she said smugly.

Ella was about to ask farther questions when she saw Raven rubbing her fist, flexing it as if she were in pain.

"Is your hand okay?" She asked with a sigh.

"Please, this is the best I've felt in a long time," she said with a smirk.

"Must not be as good as I thought," mumbled Finn, quiet enough so that Raven didn't hear.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Warning: Self-harm.**

* * *

Chapter 11

Ella Pov

Ella saw Harper follow Murphy back to his tent when he went to go wash his face, and smiled at her before ducking inside. Ella's blood boiled and she suddenly felt restless.

Bellamy reappeared from inside the Dropship, looking around camp until his eyes settled on her.

"Gear up, we're scavenging today," he said, before moving on to Jasper and Miller to give them the same message.

Ella nodded, though he was no longer facing her, and walked over to her tent, relieved to have something to do.

Noises could be heard from inside of Murphy's tent which stood right beside her own that made her blush, and quickly grabbed her beanie, and dagger.

She didn't think she would need it if all they were doing today was scavenging, but she brought it anyway. It was really better to be safe rather than sorry.

She ducked back out of her tent to go join the other boys by the gates where those who were ready to leave stood.

Murphy wasn't one of them obviously.

"Where's Murphy?" asked Jasper, directing his gaze to Ella who he knew could answer his question.

"In his tent," she said emotionless.

Jasper sighed and leaned up against the gate.

"Dose he know we're leaving?"

"I told him this morning what we were planning on doing," said Bellamy, joining them all at the gate.

Just them, Murphy emerged from his tent, slinging his jacket over his shoulder, and ran one hand threw his tousled hair, Harper following right behind him, looking just as disheveled.

The boys whistle as him in approval, to which he smirked and raised his hand in a wave, saying something to Harper and ducking back into his tent to get his knife when he saw that they all were ready, then jogged over to meet them.

"All set?" he said in a particularly better mood than he had been when he had first gone into his tent.

"Just waiting for you," said Miller with a smirk as Bellamy gave the order for the gates to be opened.

As they headed out, everyone fell into their usual positions, leaving Murphy and Ella to take up the rear.

Murphy look down at Ella, opening his mouth as if to say something, but she cut him off.

"-I need to talk to Bellamy," she said and ran up to the front of the line before be could respond.

The other guys gave her a quick glance as she ran passed them up to walk beside Bellamy who was at least ten feet away from where Ella had been and Murphy still was she noted as she looked back just to make sure.

Bellamy looked down at her questioningly when she looked at him as if she wanted to say something.

"Bell," she whispered. "Do you think that I could be paired with Jasper today?"

He raised his eyebrows at that, surprise written all over his face.

"You always go with Murphy."

"Yeah, well, maybe that's probably the reason why we hardly catch anything when we're together. We're too comfortable with each other. I think that maybe we should switch things up a bit."

"I need Jasper with me. He's still new to this and I don't want him getting into any trouble."

"Come on Bell-"

"No," he interrupted. "I don't know what's going on with you Murphy and Raven, but whatever it is needs to be worked out before it causes any more problems in my camp."

The tone to his voice told her that the topic was no longer up for discussion. she huffed and stopped in her tracks until the others passed by her and she was once again walking beside Murphy.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"I just had a question about what he wanted us to look for when we're out there," she lied.

"He tells us that before we split up into our groups. That's how it's always been," he said, his eyes boring into her, trying to read her mind.

"You're lying," he said with an odd tone to his voice that sounded a lot like disappointment.

She was saved from having to respond to that when Bellamy stopped and turned back to the group.

She wasn't listening to a word he was saying when he explained what it was he wanted them to look for - just stared off in the distance and waited for him to dismiss them.

As Murphy and Ella started down their path Ella gave him a sideways glance and noted that his good mood seemed to be back. This irritated her to no end, knowing exactly why he was in such a good mood; it was the same reason that she was in a bad one.

"I think that maybe we should split up," said Ella.

Murphy's expression dropped at that and he frowned down at her, confused.

"But, we always hunt together, and besides, we're not suppose to be on our own, that's why the whole "buddy-system" was created," he said going for a lighter tone, hoping that she was messing with him.

"I know," she said, looking down at the ground. "But, I think that it would be best – for the camp that is - if we hunted alone. We could bring back more food that way."

"Ella, if this is about last night-"

"It's not."

"Well, what than? I'm serious, no more secrets, tell me what's going on," Murphy demanded taking hold of her arm and spinning her around to face him.

"I just want to be on my own, okay," she said through gritted teeth.

Without looking back, she took off running in a different direction. She heard him call her name, and thought she could hear him running threw the woods after her. She picked up her pace, dodging branches and hurtling over fallen trees, making quick turns, until she thought that she had lost him. She jogged for a little while, the sun breaking through the tree branches and lighting her white-blond hair on fire. She knew that she was an easy target at the moment, but didn't really care.

The area around her seemed familiar and she realized that she was nearing camp, and contemplated on just going inside and pretending that she had hurt herself, so that she wouldn't get in trouble for it.

Slowing to a walk, she held her ribcage, trying to ease the stitch that was forming in her side, breathing heavily.

The snap of a twig made her whip her head around, scanning the trees around her, but saw nothing, not even a single animal. The woods were deadly quiet. She heard another snap coming from her right and almost stumbled over a tree root when she unconsciously took a step backwards.

 _Poetic justice_ , she thought wryly.

Harper suddenly stepped out from behind a tree a few feet in front of her, a humorless smile splayed about her lips.

"You're pathetic, you know that?" she said, taking a single step towards her.

"Were you following me?"

"Stay away from Murphy," she demanded, ignoring her question. "I don't care how long you two have known each other. If you wanted to be with him so badly than you should have made a move, so back off, he's mine."

As she spoke, Harper sashayed towards her, until they stood face to face Harper was a bit tall than her (as most people were) however, and stared down her nose at Ella, with eyes shooting daggers.

"I've told you before that I don't like Murphy," she said warily.

"Yes, you did, but the thing is, I'm having a bit of trouble believing you. Do you think I don't see the way you look at him? Do you think the whole camp doesn't see the way you look at him? Why, the only person who doesn't is Murphy himself – and I'm going to make sure that it stays that way."

Ella's eyes were securely locked on the ground, a slight tremble coming over her.

"You're a coward," Harper said threw clenched teeth, shoving her up against a tree, caging her in. Ella could feel the girl's hot breath against her ear. "You're never going to have him – you'll always be "just friends". And, do you know why? Because, men-" she poked her in the chest, "don't-," she poked her again, "like-" poke, "cowards."

She pulled back and smiled sweetly at her. It was one of the most frightening things that Ella had ever seen.

"Now," she said, taking a step back from her, "I hope this little chat helped."

Ella could feel tears stabbing at the back of her eyes, but was determined not to let them fall. She wanted desperately to fight back – to tell her that Murphy would tire of her quickly when he found out what she was really like. But, every time Harper had bullied her in the past, a feeling of exhaustion and hopelessness came over her, making her feel worthless and out of control.

And, the worst part was that Harper knew it.

But, she had to say something, anything.

"You don't even like him," she said so quietly that she wasn't even sure that she had said it at all, or if the words were still stuck in her head like they always were.

"What was that pipsqueak?"

"I said, you don't really like him," she said a little louder, still not able to meet her eyes.

"No," Harper said simply. "I don't. But, you do, and that's really all that matters."

Even though the other girl was no longer pressed up against her, Ella was still trapped between her and the tree, and she was unable to stop the single choked sob that escaped her throat.

"Please," Ella whispered, finally looking her right in the eye. "I love him."

A look of sick satisfaction came over Harper's face and all hope drained from Ella.

"I don't see how that's my problem. You took too long to come to that conclusion, let alone act on it. If it took me dating Murphy to trigger that realization, than too bad, and too late... he's taken."

Harper took another step towards her, now almost physically pinning her to the tree.

And, with that, she turned and left, only turning back to look at her when she was a good distance away, laughing when she saw the look of complete misery on Ella's face, then turned back and continued walking with a skip in her step, on her way back to camp no doubt, until she was out of sight. Only then did Ella let the tears fall as she slumped to the ground.

When she hit it, she felt something move in her pocket and reached into it, knowing exactly what it was.

Her dagger.

She pulled it out, letting her tears fall freely as she brought it to her wrist. It hovered there for a moment as she looked up at the cloudy blue sky. She watched the clouds dance and swirl together, feeling emptier than she ever had in her entire life.

Then, she brought the knife across her wrist in one clean motion, slicing the skin open. Blood mixing with tears.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Raven Pov

It was fairly dark out by the time the hunting team came back, and Raven immediately noticed that Ella wasn't with them. She ran up to Murphy in a panic, the thought of Ella having been killed out there by any number of things, making her heart pound and her blood run cold. When she asked them where she was, Murphy looked at her incredulously.

"You mean, she isn't here?" he almost screamed at her.

They both booked over to her tent, Raven sure that Murphy was going to collapse from panic, still being on edge from the other night after the scare she had given him.

Raven was the first to enter her tent, having took off first, with Murphy close behind her. But, when she looked inside, it was to find Ella tucked safely under the covers up to her chin in bed, her back facing them. They both gave a sigh of relief at seeing her there, some color coming back to Murphy's completely white face.

He turned away, with his hands on his hips as if the image was just to much for him to bare. Raven was about to leave her alone too, when she saw the rapid rise and fall of Ella's breathing.

She was awake.

Raven was sure that Ella would have heard them come in from the racket they had made, but still, she didn't make a move to let them know this.

"Ella? Ella, are you awake?" whispered Raven.

Nothing.

"Okay, I'll leave you alone."

And, with that, she turned and left.

The fire was being made in the center of camp. They would be cooking diner soon, and Raven got a spot on one of the many logs that surrounded the fire before they started getting filled up.

Monty was the only person there that she already knew. He seemed to be tinkering with some odd looking metal object. He did this sometimes – come out of the tent that acted as a workshop so he could get some fresh air.

She didn't blame him. Having to work inside all day after living inside the Ark your whole life was one way to make something you loved doing seem like a nuisance.

It was a slow day today, people milling around, talking and laughing in groups after a long day of work, and she was happy to see that Murphy was not one of them. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with him at the moment. There was a couple in a corner of camp making out and it made her wish Finn was there to keep her company.

Getting up, she walked over to the Dropship where she knew he would be working on knew trails to cut to make better time when they went back to the wreck to gather more supplies, with Bellamy.

"Hey, save my seat for me, alright?" she said to Monty, pounding him on the shoulder.

"O-okay," he stammered, smiling at her.

She smiled back at him sweetly, walking backwards, until she made it to the open door and walked up the rap to push aside the long canvas.

As expected, Finn was sitting at a long table that had been placed off to the side of the main space, two chairs placed at both ends, and a giant map that they had made themselves laid out between the two boys who took up residence in those chairs.

Their heads were both bent in deep concentration as they talked in low voices, occasionally pointing to a section on the map.

They were the only two people in there at the moment, which surprised her, because usually Clarke could be found in here more times than not, and hadn't seen her outside with the others.

Neither of them had heard her come in, so when she cleared her throat to get their attention, they both jumped at the noise.

"Raven," said Finn, smiling. "We're almost done here. I'll join you by the fire in a second."

"Oh, no rush," had Raven, rocking back on her heels. "Where's Clarke?"

"She went to go mix up more paint for the map," said Bellamy, not looking at her, but down at the map.

"Oh," she said, losing interest in the conversation. "Well, come sit by me when you're done."

Finn nodded and she spun around, hands in her back pockets and walked back down the ramp, the sky seeming almost black after standing in the lighted space of the Dropship.

She sighed and sat back down in her spot, that, as promised, had not been taken by anyone, and held her hands out to the fire, not so much because she was cold, but to give her something to do.

More kids had joined the fire, sitting close together to fit more people, a few of the girls on guys laps.  
Monty had put away whatever it was that he had been working on, seeing as despite the fire, it was now too dark to work, and instead sat talking to Jasper.

Raven was never really a social person, and had probably snapped at every person here for some reason or another, so no one was too eager to sit down in the open seat beside her.

She wished Ella were here. She had thought about going to talk to her to see that was wrong, or ask her why she had returned earlier than the others without telling anybody, but figured that she would most likely be asleep by now, and even if she wasn't, she didn't think that she would appreciate her coming into her tent and talking to her when she so clearly wanted to be felt alone.

Just when she was about to go back into the Dropship to harass Finn and ask him what was taking him so long, someone sat down beside her, leaning into her personal space more than necessary.

She tried to push them back to silently tell them to scoot their butt over, when she caught sight of the person beside her.

James.

His face was turned to the side, casting a shadow over it, making it hard to see any specific features, but she still knew it was him. The stench of him made her want to gag.

"I noticed you were sitting all alone and thought you looked like you could use some company," he said.

She could almost feel the smirk on his face.

She scoffed, trying to seem braver than she was, but even in a ring of people, he still managed to scare her.

"I'm saving that seat for Finn," she said, actually just thinking of that, despite waiting for him to come sit with her.

"Well, I don't see him anywhere, and a chair is only taken if there's a person in it."

She rolled her eyes, ignoring him, and watching Jasper get up from the fire with a smile as he said something to the other guys, making them laugh and pat him on the shoulder as he disappeared into the darkness to go do something that made the others he had been seated closest to turn their heads, waiting for him to return.

James draped his arm around Raven, pulling her closer to him.

"Excuse me," said Raven harshly, yanking his arm back off her.

"Relax Reyes. You're too uptight – maybe what you need is a little fun."

His arm dropped down to her upper back, slowing moving downward.

Her entire body turned to ice as she smacked his hand away, hoping that no one saw what he was doing, and at the same time, hoping someone did and help her.

"I swear, if you don't get your hands off of me right now, I'll-" she gritted under her breath.

"You'll what?" he said, squeezing her thigh. "Tell your boyfriend on me? And, just what do you think he'll do? I'm at least a head taller than he is and twice as strong, so if you tell him and he shows up at my tent, you'll be picking pieces of him off the ground. And then, the real fun can begin-"

"Whose thirsty!" Jasper shouted over everyone, stopping their conversations to cheer when they saw the bottle of moonshine he held above his head like a trophy.

"Like I said," said James, releasing her and getting up from the log. "You need to relax – have a little fun."

He turned around and walked around the fire, merging into the crowd of teens waiting to get at what Jasper was now distributing.

Raven just then realized that she was shaking, and clamped her hands together tightly so no one would notice, her knuckles turning white as she bounced her foot up and down, trying to get rid of the out of control feeling inside of her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone coming out of their tent, and when she turned her head in that direction, she saw to her surprise that it was Ella.

She was standing too far away to see anything specific about her other than her platinum hair, but as she came closer, Raven could see the completely dead look on her pale face.

Ella wrapped her arms around herself as she came closer, standing before the fire beside Raven even though the seat beside her was now open.

"Did you have a nice nap?" asked Raven, wanting the girl desperately to talk to her, needing something to take her mind off of James.

"It was fine," she said with no emotion whatsoever. "I need a drink."

And, with that, she disappeared into the crowd of teenagers waiting to get some of Jasper's moonshine.


	13. Chapter 13

**Warning: Teen drinking.**

Chapter 13

Murphy Pov

Murphy could hear the cheering coming from the fire all the way from inside his tent, where he had been since he had gotten back from scavenging. He really wanted to see Ella. He hated being alone, and knew she would probably be in her tent for the rest of the night.

Maybe he could slip into her tent unnoticed like she did to him when she got lonely at night.

Thinking of her warm and delicate, tucked away in bed made up his mind for him, and he got up, only bothering to put his shoes and socks on because he thought that she wouldn't appreciate him getting dirt in her bed, then walked outside into the warm night air, easily finding the flap to her tent in the dark, but he stopped when he saw a flash of silver out of the corner of his eye.

He whipped his head around, doing a double-take when he saw Ella standing on one of the logs surrounding the camp fire, with a drink that could only be moonshine by the noise that the other campers were making, held high in the air, some guys arm that he couldn't see the face of from where he was standing, slung around her waist, holding her steady.

Confusion was the first thing he felt at seeing her there, which then turned to worry, which quickly turned to anger.

 _What did she think she was doing?_

He stomped over the the campfire, eyes on Ella. The only thing that stopped him was seeing Raven sitting a few feet away from her, her head in her hands, rubbing her face with her palms, stopping to cover the bottom half of her face as she looked over at Ella with worry in her eyes.

He immediately changed courses, walking over to Raven instead.

"Raven," he growled as he neared her.

"Oh, thank God, Murphy."

She shot up from where she was sitting, looking more relieved to see him than he ever thought possible, seeing as he was pretty sure that she hated him at the moment, though he had no idea why.

"What's going on?" he continued, nodding in Ella's direction.

He watched as Ella almost slipped off the log, the guy standing behind, who turned out to be Miller, pushing her back up.

"I don't know, she won't even talk to me. I can't get her to listen to me, or even sit down for a second. That's got to be her third drink by now. I don't know what to do. Help me."

He could hear the plea in Raven's voice, and knew that, given Ella's past, this wasn't something to look past. She wasn't trying to have fun with the others – no, this was much more than that.

Not even knowing why he was doing it, Murphy placed a hand on Raven's shoulder in silent comfort, and when she looked into his eyes, something clicked, the way it does between two people who understand what the other is going through.

She gave him a wavering smile as he turned back to Ella.

Her long silky hair was out of its usual braid, reaching past her waist and swinging as she bent forward to take a drink. She was in a thin light gray tank top with a navy jacket and hunter green army style pants, tucked into her black boots, her gray beanie coming dangerously close to falling off her head.

Just the sight of her sent a feeling of longing threw him, something that he always had to push down. She was his best friend!

When he reached her, she only gave him a glance before turning back to talk to a girl he didn't know.

"Ella," he said in a firm voice.

Nothing.

"Ella, I need to talk to you," he said a little louder.

She turned her head slowly around to look at him. "I don't want to talk to you John, I'm having fun, and neither you nor Raven are going to spoil that fun."

She only called him by his first name when she was either mad at him or when she was talking to him in a soothing voice when he was mad or hurt. Like, when he had lost his father and then his mother in close proximity. This, however, was not one of those times.

"No, you're not, and yes, you are going to talk to me," he said, firmly, but gently taking her hand and pulling her off the log.

She went, only because she lost her balance, landing in his arms as she fell into him. She stayed there for a moment before pushing off his chest with a huff and taking a step back.

"Fine, what do you want?" she asked with forced annoyance.

He snatched the cup from her hand that was still half full and poured it out onto the ground.

"For you to stop drinking would be a start. You know you're going to feel awful tomorrow, don't you?"

"I don't care, because it's not tomorrow, it's today, and today I feel just fine," she said, her gaze unfocused, stumbling backwards.

"Really?" he said mockingly.

"Really."

"Fine, you want to learn the hard way, be my guest. But, don't think that I'm not going to be watching you. I hope you feel as bad as I'm sure you're going to tomorrow, because what you're doing right now is stupid and childish."

Her eyes narrowed. "And, just what _am_ I doing exactly?"

"There's something wrong with you and I'm going to find out what it is, so you might as well just tell me before you do anything stupider than you already have."

"Thanks for the advise," she said, taking a seductive step towards him, bringing her lips to his ear. "But, I'm fine."

Turning around, she took Miller's hand and rejoined the group of rowdy teens.

He shook his head and plopped himself down on the log beside Raven, both of them staring at their intoxicated friend as she stumbled into Miller's arms, the boy bent down and whisper something in her ear that made her blush.

Murphy's blood boiled at the way he was touching her. He was just being a concerned friend. He had a girl friend, and one that he very much liked, but the thought of someone else getting to hold Ella in that intimate way had him getting back to his feet, with the full intention of beating him to the ground.

"There you are Murphy, I've been looking all over for you," said Harper exasperatedly, coming up behind Murphy soundlessly.

Annoyed at being denied a fight, he turned to look at Harper who gave him a stunning smile that didn't quiet reach her eyes.

"I'm bored and need someone to talk to," she pouted in that baby voice she always seemed to use on him in which he hated.

He was sure that she meant it to be cute, but to him, it was anything but.

He looked back over at Ella and Miller one last time, before giving in and sitting back down to talk with Harper.

Murphy sat there for what felt like forever, staring into the flames of the fire as Harper ranted on and on about camp gossip.

If you had asked him to recite a single word she had said to him, his mind would have gone completely blank. He was much more concerned with Ella at the moment than anything she had to say.

Every once in a while, he would glance over at her, trying to be discreet while doing it, to where she now sat on the table that was used to serve food, surrounded by Jasper, Monty, Miller, and a boy named Andrew who he had only spoken to once before. She seemed safe enough with both Jasper and Monty there, who he knew would never touch her, but he couldn't say the same for the other two boys.

They were all well into their cups by now, but Ella had them all beat at their level of intoxication. He had no idea what had gotten into her. She hated drinking – hated it because she liked to be on alert at all times. If nothing else, she at least wanted to be in control of her own brain.

Apparently, something had changed.

It was killing him, not knowing what was going on with her. She had started acting so weird around him lately. She was pushing him away. This was something that he had always been afraid of, but he had always thought that it would have been because of something he had done.

But, he hadn't done anything to her. Nothing that he could think of that would make her act like this, at least. He had been a perfect gentleman to her, like he always had. He had pushed and beaten down the strong emotions he felt for her when he held her in his arms at night. He didn't tell her that her laugh made him what to scoop her up in his arms and kiss her breathless. He had done everything by the book when it came to being her friend, making sure to never slip up. She was much to innocent to want him in that way, anyway.

Miller sat up on the table beside Ella, leaning over to whisper something in her ear that made her laugh hysterically as he pulled her onto his lap.

Murphy's eyes narrowed as he watched the boy lean over and kiss her full on the lips. He felt like his whole body was on fire, watching Miller hop of the table, non to gracefully and took Ella by the arm, helping her off the table as well, and started leading her to his tent.

That was the last straw.

Murphy got up from the fire, leaving a very confused Harper behind, and strode purposely over to the couple.

Without say a word, he punched Miller in the nose as hard as he could, then watched him fall to the ground, taken totally by surprise. Once he hit the ground, Murphy kicked him in the stomach for good measure, then strongly took Ella by the wrist and pulled her away from the boy laying on the ground with a fluent stream of blood flowing from his nose, hunched over in pain, and took her inside his own tent.

"Let go, you're hurting me," she gasped as she ducked inside with him, almost falling when he immediately let go of her, too dizzy to stand straight, but righted herself before she face-planted into dirt floor.

Murphy wanted to giver her hell for putting herself in such a position, but when he saw a single tear slide down her face in the light of the full moon that was coming threw his tent, holding the wrist that he had grabbed her with, and the look of shame, hurt and confusion mixed in her expression, he sighed and took her by the hand instead, drawing her over to his bed.

He sat down on it himself, urging her to lay on her back in front of him so that he could lay her in his lap.

"Why, Ella?" Why would you do this to yourself?" He whispered, gently playing with her hair and massaging her scalp.

"Because, I'm in love with you, you silly boy," she murmured sleepily.

Murphy's back went as stiff as a board.

"Y-you, what?" he choked out, hope filling him like air filling a balloon.

But, she had already fallen into a deep sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Ella Pov

The first thing that Ella was aware of when she woke up was the pounding in her head. She groaned, clutching her head on either side, wincing at the pain. When she opened her eyes, the second thing she was aware of was that she wasn't in her tent.

Rolling onto her side, she came face to face with a peacefully sleeping Murphy. He snorted in his sleep, and despite the pain she was feeling, and the emptiness she had felt since the other morning, she laughed.

It was a choked laugh, one the came from someone unexpectedly. It made her head hurt even more, but she didn't care. It felt good to feel something again.

Laying there, she tried desperately to remember the night before, but her memory was only coming to her in flashes, not forming into one solid memory: her, smiling a dead smile as she wrapped an arm around Miller's neck - Jasper telling her that she should take it easy on the drinking with concern in his brown eyes - Monty, saying that he couldn't believe that she had beat them all in a drinking game seeing as she never drank with the others before.

But, something in the back of her mind was bugging her, like she had done something she would regret. Something she would regret more than drinking enough to make her feel as bad as she did at the moment.

Why couldn't she remember anything? She had never drank before last night, and the feeling that it gave her wasn't like she had expected and it was something that she knew she would never do again.

She hated this feeling. This feeling of desperation to know a portion of her life that had been taken from her by consuming a drink that made her burn and feel like she was going to throw up.

Her face turned pale as the last thought made her bolt out of Murphy's bed, still in her gray tank top from the night before, though her jacket, pants, boots, and socks had been stripped away, leaving her in her tight black shorts that she always worn underneath.

She ran around the back of his tent facing the fence that surrounded camp, and doubled over, retching burning liquid into the bushes. Tears came to her eyes from the force everything came up with, and she collapsed to the ground, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, then wiping her hand in the dew covered grass, and rested her back and head against the wooden fence, looking up at the sky and watching a large black bird fly high in the air.

The image reminded her of the night in the woods she had ran from camp, unconsciously rubbing her still bandaged wrist.

And, her blood ran cold.

Her jacket was gone. She had put it on despite the warm weather to cover up the bloody bandages around her wrists, but Murphy must have taken it off when he had removed half of her cloths after she had passed out in his bed to make her more comfortable.

She could almost picture his face when he had removed her jacket to reveal what was hidden underneath. Disappointment, mixed with worry and fear – the very expression he tried to cover up every time she had done this in the past. That look always filled her with shame, and made her feel even worse than she had before. He thought that he had let her down, but honestly, he was the only thing keeping her from falling to pieces.

It was very early outside, the sun only just peaking out from behind the trees on the horizon. Not a single person could be seen walking around camp, and she figured that it was going to take a while for them all to bring their foggy heads to full wakefulness after the night they all had, let alone getting started on their chores.

Ella took in a lungful of air, trying to settle her stomach, though throwing up helped to ease it a bit, and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of crickets and birds chirping on the other side of the fence, a sound that she only now was getting use to hearing every morning.

It was funny how, after just a short amount of time being on Earth, how fast even the smallest things and sounds could seem so normal, like she had heard and seen them her whole life.

The sound of a rustling tent from her left sounded in the still air, making Ella snap her head around in time to see Jasper running out and around the back of the tent he shared with Monty and making it just in time to throw up behind it, like she had done a moment ago, hands braced on knees, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. She smiled despite herself as the boy groaned and tried to straighten up again, looking around to make sure that no one had seen him.

His eyes landed on Ella, and even from two tents down, she could see the blush on his face, bringing some color back into it.

She smiled kindly at him and patted the ground beside her for him to sit with her.

She hadn't known Jasper before they were all sent to Earth, she had seen him in the halls, but had never actually talked to him. But, once they landed, he had been one of the very few people down here that never gave her a hard time. It was easy being around him. He was kind and respectful to her, and she now counted him a close friend.

Besides Murphy, he was the only one who really talked to her on their hunting trips. He treated her like their equal, the other guys eventually following his lead and including her on their conversations, not excluding her as the only girl on the team.

Jasper was well liked around camp by everyone. There was just something about him that made it easy to like him. He was funny without being annoying, nerdy without being pathetic, strong without being cocky, and charming without even knowing it.

Flipping his hair out of his face, Jasper walked over to her, hunched slightly, obviously trying to easy his own pain without trying to show that he was feeling any at all.

He practically threw himself down beside her, relieved to be able to sit down and relax his aching muscles. He rested his head against the fence as well, tilting his head to the side to look at her.

"Hey," he breathed, smiling a lazy smile at her, his eyes drooping in exhaustion.

She smiled back at him. "Hey."

"Out her enjoying the morning air?" he laughed, a miserable, humorous laugh.

She shook her head, smiling wider. "No, just beat you out here to do what you just did to those poor plants over there."

His eyes closed all the way as he tilted his head back up to the sky.

"I really hope you don't feel as bad as I do right now. If I roll over and die right here, tell people that I was attacked by a Grounder – went down fighting, not laying in the grass in a puddle of my own vomit," he said dramatically.

Ella laughed, and Jasper opened one eye to look down at her smiling, pleased with himself for making her laugh.

"I must look like a mess," she sighed.

He opened his eyes all the way then, glancing sideways at her.

"No, you look beautiful."

She felt her face grow hot at that, and she looked down at the ground another breathless laugh escaping her.

No one had even told that she was beautiful before other than Murphy and Raven and she knew that both of them loved her and were just being objective, knowing that she had low self-esteem.

But, hearing it come from Jasper's lips, someone she hadn't known very long at all, made butterflies flutter around in her stomach and her cheeks turn a brilliant shade of pink.

She was achingly aware of his lack of clothing, which only made her grow hotter. And, in this moment, she forgot how completely in love she was with a guy who would never love her back in that way. She was only there with Jasper who thought she was beautiful and made her feel happy.

Ella placed her hands discreetly behind her so that he wouldn't notice her cut wrists.

"Thank you," she said shyly. "I'm sure we must be a sight to see, two teens sitting behind a tent, smelling like vomit, half naked.

He laughed at that, a carefree laugh that was very contagious.

"Uh, I'm never drinking again," she said, holding her aching head, that seemed to be slowly feeling better the more fresh air she breathed in.

"Yeah," said Jasper, scratching his head. "I don't like it that much either."

"So, why do you do it?"

"I like being a part of the group. On the Ark, people passed right by me everyday, my only friend was Monty. No one gave me a second glance up there. But, down here. I don't really know why, but down here, they think I'm a hero, just because I was in the right place at the right time. I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "I guess I just don't want to mess it up. I like feeling important. I liked being liked."

Ella stared at Murphy's tent in front of her, wondering why he was telling all of this. Wondered why he would let her see the imperfect side to him that he hid from everyone else.

"I'm sure everyone would still like you if you didn't do these kinds of things. I know I would. You're fun to be around, everyone loves you, you have nothing more to prove.

Jasper looked at her as she met his gaze again, the expression on his face hard for her to read. She stared into his eyes, seeing him – really seeing him for the first time. Just a boy trying to belong.

The sound of someone tripping over something followed by a string of curses broke their gaze, Ella blinking and smiling back down at the ground.

Maybe she could get over Murphy.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Murphy Pov

Murphy rolled over in bed groaning, still half asleep. He wanted desperately to fall back into blissful slumber, with no worry and no responsibility, just warmth and -

Ella

He sat up so fast that it made his vision go black, and he rubbed his eyelid aggressively, trying to stop his head from spinning.

Where was she? He had held her all through the night, hardly sleeping, keeping himself up thinking about what Ella had said to him before she had fallen asleep.

 _I'm in love with you, you silly boy_ , she had said.

Not I love you. She had said that enough times over the years that he could tell the difference. She hadn't said that she loved him- no, she said that she was _in_ love with him. He hadn't imagined it, he couldn't have. He didn't imagine it and it hadn't been a dream. There was still hope for him.

The thought made him smile from ear to ear, only letting this effect him so much, because no one was around to see it.

But, just as quickly as it came, it disappeared.

Was he even good enough for her? Even if she did love him back, how long would that last until he did something to screw it up? He was already so close to her as it was, if he got any closer, only to lose her...

No, he wouldn't mess this up, of course he would never do anything that could potentially wreck how she felt about him. He knew she knew just who he was, and accepted him for it.

Suddenly, another thought popped into his head, one he shamefully hadn't thought about until just now.

He was still dating Harper.

Guilt washed over him for forgetting all about her. Their relationship was so knew, and what he felt for Ella had been around long before he even knew her.

He couldn't just brake up with her because of something Ella had said, that he wasn't even sure was true. Could he?

No, he couldn't, it wouldn't be fair. He would talk to Ella first. He would find her and bring her back to his tent to talk and would not let her leave until everything was out in the open.

Hopping out of bed, he got dressed before he could psych himself out, then ducked out of his tent and into the hot summer air.

Judging by the weary hustle of camp, he seemed to be the last one to rise. Almost everyone he saw was dragging their feet or holding their heads. He smirked inwardly at his decision to not drink with the others. He felt just fine, save for the pounding of his heart as he looked around camp for a familiar flash of platinum hair.

His brows drew together, not seeing her among the others and was about to turn around to search her tent when he heard someone calling his voice. He turned back around to see Bellamy jogging up to him.

"Raven and Monty need more supplies from the wreck, can you tell Ella that we're leaving in ten?"

"I don't even know where she is," he said exasperatedly.

"Check Jasper's tent, I saw her go in there this morning. Tell Jasper we're leaving too, when you find them."

"What's she doing in Jasper's tent?" he asked, thoroughly confused.

Bellamy shrugged. "I saw her leave his tent in one of his shirts before the others were awake, heading to her own tent, than came back out in her own cloths and walked right back in. I'm guessing their both still in there-"

Before Bellamy even finished his sentence, Murphy took off in the direction of Jasper's tent, with the full intention of bashing his head in for even thinking about touching Ella.

When he reached the tent, he gripped the flap and flung it aside, causing the pair inside jump in surprise.

Ella was sitting on Jasper's bed in the same pair of hunter green pants she had worn the day before and a white tank top, two of the few articles of clothing that she owned. Jasper was standing in the middle of the tent, cleaning his gun. Ella had been laughing at something Jasper had said before he barged into the tent, but stopped when she saw the scowl on his face.

Both of them looked at him wearily as he tried to compose himself at seeing that they weren't even near each other.

"Bellamy needs us to collect supplies from the wreck for Raven and Monty. We're leaving in ten," he said, only looking at Jasper, with narrowed watchful eyes.

Jasper nodded, knowing the boy was mad, though not knowing what had angered him, Ella's heart was beating fast, knowing that that look meant he was ready for a fight. No one said a word as the silence grew. Ella wanted to say something, but no words would form in her mouth.

You could cut the tension in the tent with a knife as Murphy glared at the Jasper, daring him to give him a reason to hit him.

"Two minutes!" Bellamy shouted from outside, braking the silence.

"Come on," Murphy said to Ella, snapping out of it, now pretending that the other boy didn't even exist, "we need to get our things."

Reluctantly, Ella hopped off of Jasper's bed, giving him a small smile as she passed by him, Murphy beating Jasper's returned smile with a scowl that wiped it right off his face, then walked out of the tent behind Ella.

"What was that about?" said Ella accusingly as soon as they stepped outside.

"What were you two doing in there?"

Ella blinked. "We were just talking, you saw us."

"Bellamy said that he saw you leaving his tent this morning in Jasper's shirt," he said with forced calmness.

She blushed at that. "I left your tent without putting the rest of my cloths on because I felt sick," her cheeks turned even redder. "I didn't bother to put my bra on last night since I had my jacket, a-and my sh-shirt was a b-bit see-threw."

Murphy looked at her incredulously, turning back around to Jasper's tent, but Ella grabbed his arm before he could reenter.

"No, Murphy, don't, he was just trying to help," she pleaded with him, gripping his arm with desperation.

Murphy sighed, turning back to her, watching her nibble at her bottom lip, an action she made when she was distressed and always seemed to make him smile at how cute she looked when she did it.

Letting the rest of his anger slip away, he wrapped her up in a bug hug, confusing her with his bipolar behavior, then lead her back to their tents to grab her dagger and he his knife, then both of them jogged over to the gate where the others were gathering.

Once they got to the wreck he would find somewhere he could pull her aside and talk to her in private, he decided.

Jasper was the last person to join them at the gate, purposely standing as far away from Murphy as he could. Murphy could feel Ella's gaze on him, but before he could meet it, she was turning around and walking to stand beside Jasper, whispering something into his ear that made him shoot a quick glance at Murphy, than back at the girl beside him.

Shock mixed with betrayal was written all of Murphy's face as the gates opened and the grouped started out. Ella and Jasper walking side by side.

* * *

 **A/N: Don't worry, you won't hate me so much when you read the next chapter...**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Ella Pov

"I don't know, Ella," said Jasper shaking his head. "Do you really think that making Murphy jealous is the right thing to do?"

Ella couldn't remembered the last time she had talked so much in one day. There was something so easy and safe about Jasper that made her want to tell him everything.

They had talked all morning about absolutely nothing. He told her a bit about his childhood and she the same. They talked about their favorite foods, and least favorite subject in class back on the Ark.

And, he told her about a crush he had on a girl named Emile who had been up there, and how he wondered if she was still alive, or if she had been on the Exodus ship that had crashed only a week before – the people who had thought that they would be following their children, their friends down to Earth, only for something to go very wrong in the landing, killing everyone on board.

The way he talked about this girl and what he feared had happened to her scared Ella. What if something like that ever happened to Murphy and she never got the chance to tell him how she felt about him?

Without even thinking twice, she had told Jasper about how she felt about Murphy. Something that she never even told Raven, who had found out on her own. She just came out and told him, knowing that he would understand. That she could trust him.

Jasper was a nice guy and she did find him attractive, but they were both still hung up on other people, so they knew that there would never really be anything romantic between the two of them. But, they had become a lot closer in that small amount of time that they spent together, and she really liked having him as a friend and ally.

"Well," he had said. "is there anything that I can do to help you? It might make me feel a bit better."

She hadn't worked up enough courage to tell Murphy straight out how she felt, so she had asked Jasper to help her to try to make him jealous instead. If he got jealous that she was flirting with Jasper, than he did like her, and if not, he didn't.

True, it did sound childish, but it was all she had. She needed closure, and if this was what was going to give it to her, than so be it.

"No, but it's all I've got," she whispered back.

They were walking right behind Bellamy, still far from Murphy who was now talking to Miller and Finn, who came along only on the rarest of occasions.

There was really no need to be quiet seeing as they weren't hunting today, and had not passed into Grounder territory. But, still, they talked in hushed voices, always being careful.

Jasper shook his head, his floppy brown hair falling into his eyes. "Alright. If you say so."

They were quiet after that as they walked through the woods. Finn and Bellamy had found a better way to take that was much faster than the other had been, but since this path was never tried they were constantly ducking under branches and weaving around trees, every once in a while Jasper would hold a branch out of Ella's way so that she could pass by letting it snap back into place behind her.

The path was a hard one, but it did prove to be shorter than the other had been. Ella could see the wreckage through the brakes in the trees ahead of her, and was proud that she made it all the way there without getting winded.

The first time she had ever gone out with the boys on an all day hunting trip, she had collapsed from exhaustion as soon as she got back to her tent. But now, her body had time to adjust and she was able to walk for miles without feeling the least bit tired.

She still had a ways to go, but at least she was able to keep up with the others and not hold them back.

Bellamy stopped in front of her and Jasper as soon as he got to the edge of the woods, looking out at the large crater that was filled with the ashy remains of the Exodus ship.

Even after a week, the remains of the ship were still smoking, though the smoke had turned white signaling that whatever fire had been going was now put out.

Once everyone reached Bellamy, he turned around to face them all.

"Alright," he said, quiet, but demanding as usual. "We're looking for any scrap metal that we can carry back as well as loose wires. Fit whatever you can into your packs and carry the rest."

Ella caught Bellamy's eye and nodded her head towards Jasper, giving him a pleading look. Bellamy looked from her to Murphy then her and Jasper. Shaking his head, he continued.

"Miller, you're with me, Murphy you're with Finn, Ella, Jasper," he said, than started down into the crater, with Miller following close behind.

Murphy stood there with a shocked expression on his face, but hid it quickly as Finn turned to him, giving him a playful hit on the chest, then started down into the crater as well.

Before Murphy followed him, he turned back to Ella giving her an odd look, than turned to follow Finn.

Ella gave herself a moment of guilt, Jasper looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked up at him, giving him a crooked smile, then walked down to join the others.

"I told you this isn't a good idea," Jasper said under his breath. "I fully believe that I'm going to be killed by Murphy before the day is up."

"Don't be so dramatic," Ella smiled.

"But, you saw how he was with Miller the other day. He punched the guy when he saw him leading you to his tent, then kicked him while he was already down."

Ella stopped in her tracks, whipping her head around to looking at him, causing Jasper to nearly run into her.

"What?"

"You don't remember?"

"I hardly remember anything from last night. He actually punched Miller? He's one of his best friends," she said in disbelief.

"Honestly, I would have done the same if I had caught him first. Taking advantage of you like that was a really crappy thing to do. He wasn't anywhere near as drunk as you were and would have known better."

Jasper winced apologetically when her lips drew into a hard line at the mention of how much she had drank last night.

"Of course, he was the first to see it though, he was staring at you all night. His eyes snapping over to you every time he heard your voice to make sure you were okay. It was kind of keeping me on edge, thinking that at any minute he was going to walk over, shoot us all in the head, than take you away."

Ella would have laughed at that blunt comment if her head wasn't spinning. He had attacked Miller last night when he was trying to take her back to his tent? Of course, that alone didn't mean that he liked her, but by the sound of it, he had taken it a lot farther than just simply stopping the boy.

She should be furious at Miller for taking advantage of her, but she couldn't seem to keep her mind on that.

Murphy had been watching her all night. That didn't mean he liked her or anything. He was just being protective. But, at least it was _something_ to go on.

As they walked through the wreckage, Ella unconsciously kicked aside lose pieces of metal, picking up wires that were still covered in their rubber casing and pulling them loose, making sparks fly, until they were deactivated, than coiling them in her pack.

Jasper crunched through the damage behind her, picking up the things that she missed. He could tell that she was a bit distracted.

"Jasper," she said quietly as she heard him pull a piece of scrap metal out from under a chuck of the ship.

"Yeah?"

He jogged up beside her so that they were walking together, occasionally picking up pieces of metal to make them look busy.

"What would you do if tomorrow Emile came down from the Ark?"

Jasper raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, would you talk to her? Would you tell her how you felt?"

Jasper had to think about that for a moment. He had though about Emile a lot while he was down here, wondering what she was doing, or if she was alright – trying his hardest not to think about her getting onto the Exodus ship, full of wonder and hope about seeing Earth.

"I would tell her how I felt," he decided, not afraid to let her see how deeply he felt about the girl. "And, I wouldn't take the time that we had for granted, because anything can happen, even if you think you're safe, something could always go wrong. I wish I had known that before I came down here. I wish I hadn't held back from what I really wanted, because now it's to late. I may never see her again."

As he talked he watched her suck her bottom lip into her mouth, deep in thought, and he knew that what he was saying affected her, and was proud of himself. Maybe this girl would stop herself from making that same mistakes that he made.

In that moment something clicked inside Ella. She wasn't going to try to get over Murphy. Even after all this time, Jasper was stuck down here thinking about a girl he may never see again. Someone who would never know how he felt about her, all because he had kept quiet, standing in the shadows, keeping a low profile.

But, it wasn't to late for her and Murphy. They were both alive and well, and together.

"You're going to see her again," said Ella, snapping out of her thought, looking up at Jasper.

He snapped his head around to look deeply into her eyes.

"You're going to see Emile again."

Jasper gave her a lopsided smile, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her into a half hug, letting go quickly when he saw Murphy glaring at him from the other side of the crater.

* * *

 **A/N: The time that you've all been waiting for is soon approaching. Give it about 2-4 chapters and I promise that I will make it very much worth the wait.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Murphy Pov

Murphy could feel Finn's eyes glancing over at him every few seconds and it was starting to make him uncomfortable. He tried his best to ignore him, but without fail, Finn's eyes seemed to return to him every time Murphy thought he would stop.

Finally, reaching his breaking point, which wasn't hard for him to reach, Murphy spun around to glare at Finn, making the other boy jump.

"What?" he demanded.

Finn looked at him with a cool expression, though it was clear that he was uncomfortable for some reason.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been staring at me for the past twenty minute, so tell me whatever it is so that we can get back to searching in blissful silence," he said, rolling his eyes tiredly, and running a dirty hand threw his messy hair.

Finn took a deep breath, his cover look fading as he shifted from one foot to the other.

"How's Harper?"

Murphy stared, taken aback. He had no clue what the boy had been bothered about this whole time, and quiet honestly didn't really care, but that defiantly wasn't what he was expecting.

"Fine," he said, turning back to continue there search for loose wires, hoping that he would take the hit that he wasn't in the mood to talk at the moment.

Finn jogged to catch back up with him.

"So, you really like her than?"

"Yeah, I guess," Murphy breathed tiredly.

"You guess?"

Murphy rolled his head to the side dramatically to look Finn in the eyes.

"Yeah, I guess. Why do you care? You and Raven going threw a rough patch? Look, if you want to cheat on her with someone, stay away from my girlfriend," he said, smirking inwardly when Finn glared at him.

"That's not what I'm saying, and I would never cheat on Raven, especially with Harper."

Now it was Murphy's turn to glare.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

Finn took a deep breath, trying to calm his obvious frustration.

"Nothing," he said after collecting himself. "So, you're happy with Harper?"

"That's kind of an impossible question. No one is happy all the time in their relationships."

"That's not a yes."

"That's not a no," said Murphy exasperatedly.

"I'm just saying, if you were happy than it wouldn't even be a thought. If someone asked me if I was happy with Raven, I would just say yes. She makes me happy, and I've never had to question whether or not she was the person that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."

Murphy's eyebrows drew together wondering where he was going with this.

"Okay," was all he said.

"Okay?"

Now, Murphy was starting to get seriously annoyed.

"What do you want from me, Finn? To tell you that I struggle everyday to try to keep up with this whole relationship thing? Because, I am. I'm just not cut out for it," he whisper-yelled, trying not to draw the attention of the others.

Finn looked at him for a long time.

"I think you are," he said. "You're just not with the right person."

Murphy scoffed. "Well than, please, since you seem to have all the answers, please, tell me who the right person is."

Murphy bent down to pull a piece of deactivated wire from inside a large piece of metal that was so twisted and bent up that Murphy had no idea what it had been when it was a part of the Exodus ship.

He stretched back up, putting the wire in his pack and turning to look out at the land before him in the opposite direction they had just come from. Before him was a fifty foot drop cliff, opening out into a mass expanse of land that stretched out for miles and miles. It was so close to the crater that he was surprised that the ship had completely missed it.

His back was turned to Finn, fully believing that he wouldn't have an answer to his question, and would just leave him alone. But, of course, Finn wasn't one to give up that easily.

"Ella?"

Murphy shot up so fast he made himself dizzy, expecting to see Ella standing behind him. That was the only explanation that he could think of as to why he had said her name – that he was talking to her in person and was not in fact answering his question.

"What?" he said dangerously when he saw that she wasn't there, and the latter had been true.

"Have you ever thought about it?" asked Finn, shifting from one foot to the other and looking like he would rather be anywhere but there.

"Thought about what?" Murphy's eyes narrowed.

"Are you really going to make me say it?"

Murphy huffed and turned away.

"Raven put you up to this, didn't she?"

Finn was torn between relief and regret that he gave Raven's plan away when Murphy came to that conclusion.

"Ella pretty great, and you both – who never seem to be in good moods, with Ella always getting put down by everyone in camp and you being, well, you," Murphy looked like he was going to hit him, so he plowed on before that could happened. "- always seem happy when you're together."

"Look, I really don't want to talk about this, and I defiantly don't want to talk about it with you. Anything that has to do with Ella and I will stay between Ella and I."

As Murphy glared at him, he watched as the stress of the conversation slipped away from Finn's features replaced by thoughtfulness, then to realization and last of all to a sly grin.

"You do like her, don't you?"

Murphy sighed, hoping that it wasn't so clearly written all over his face, and turned away from him, again.

"I'm not talking about this anymore," he growled.

He could clearly picture the look of pride at getting that out of him on Finn's face, that he had gotten as good of a confession as he was going to. And, the thought made him even angrier.

He looked over at Ella as he always seemed to do when he was mad or frustrated, just looking at her always seeming to cool his temper. But, when he saw Jasper's arm around her, and Ella smiling up at him, something inside of him caught on fire, and he could feel the frustration that had been slowly building over the years of trying so hard to keep himself from her being pulled dangerously close to the point of breaking.

Enough was enough.

But, before he could even make the first step in Ella's direction, a scream pierced the air, making everyone in the search team snap their heads in the direction of the cliff.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Ella Pov

When the scream rang through the wide expanse of the crater, for a second everyone was so shocked that no one moved.

Ella was the first to snap out of it, running towards the edge of the cliff. That seemed to snap everyone else back to attention as well as they all ran after her.

Murphy was suddenly less focused on where the scream had come from and more so on the fact that if Ella didn't slow down, she wasn't going to be able to stop herself from falling over the side of the cliff.

As soon as Murphy reached her, he grabbed her arm, pulling her up short a few feet from the cliffs edge, Bellamy and Miller right behind him, with Jasper, despite being one of the closest to the cliff, was the slowest and the last to reach the others.

As one, they all looked over the side, standing in a straight line and squinting their eyes when nothing was visible. All they could see was the never ending land at the steep drop, and at the very bottom, pieces of the Exodus ship and sharp jagged rocks.

The boys all straitened in confusion. The fact that they had all ran right to this spot meant that they couldn't have mistaken the direction in which the scream came from.

Ella was the only one who remained looking out over the cliff, and was just about to get up as well, when a flash of red caught the corner of her eye from under a ledge that stuck out from the side of the cliff.

"Hey!" Ella called, instantly getting the boys attention. "Someone's down there."

They all ran right back to her side, looking back over, making Ella scared that they were going to push each other off, when they gathered around her, perched on their knees.

"I don't see anything," said Jasper.

"You were probably seeing things," said Miller.

Murphy gave him a look that told him if he said anything else to her, he was going to get pushed off the cliff.

"I did see something, just keep watching," she said exasperatedly, turning back to look at the spot where she had see the flash. "It was right there."

They all followed her finger to where she was pointing.

Everything was still for a long time, all of them staring over the cliff, holding their breaths. Ella was starting to feel like it _had_ just been a trick of her eyes, when-

"There!" she said as a piece of red fabric fluttered back into view, blowing around in the slight wind.

A few of them flinched back when they saw it, and she was sure that they had just been humoring her by staying and didn't think that she had actually seen anything at all.

"Miller, get the rope out of my pack," commanded Bellamy, getting to his feet.

Miller ran to do his bidding without even a thought, all of them eager to see what was down there.

"Hello?" Bellamy shouted down the side of the cliff. "Can anyone hear me?"

No response.

"So, they can scream, but they can't talk, that's nice to know," mutter Murphy under his breath.

Ella speared him with a look saying this was defiantly not the time to be sarcastic.

Miller handed Bellamy the rope, and he made a big loop, securing the end in a tight knot, then handed the other end back to Miller, slipping into the loop so that it rested under in backside.

"Alright, everyone grab onto the end of the rope in a straight line. Once I reach the edge of the cliff, start pulling until I tell you to lower me down. If whoever is down there is still alive, I'm going to strap them in and you'll pull them up first, then lower it back down to me. Got it?"

They all nodded in sync, a little on edge as he backed to the edge of the cliff. His life was in their hands, and if they dropped him, that was it - he was gone.

Bellamy placed his hand flat on the ground and the team started pulling on the rope slightly so that he had a support. Then, he slowly dropped his legs over the side, holding himself up by his forearms until he found a foothold, and tested his weight on the rope. When he was sure that it would hold him he gave them a thumbs-up and they started moving the rope in the opposite direction causing him to start his decent down.

Miller was placed at the front of the rope, with Jasper behind him, then Finn, Murphy and Ella at the back.

She could tell that Bellamy was trying his hardest not to rely on them to much to keep him from plummeting to the ground, and she was dreading having to lift his dead weight back up.

Sure, there were five of them, but the rope could always snap.

The rope jerked suddenly in her hands making her heart pound against her chest, and Ella heard a growl from Bellamy as he lost his footing. Everyone was thrown forward a few steps at the sudden extra weight, causing Bellamy to utter a string of curses. They quickly got their footing back, and the weight lifted again as Bellamy found purchase. They all allowed themselves a moment of relief as he once again started his careful decent.

Ella's palms were sweating, terrified for Bellamy's safety, and could only imagine how frightened he was, though he would never in a million years show it.

They were going painfully slow, and Ella's hands were on fire as the rope slipped between her sensitive hands, and could see blood on the rope from where it had slipped threw them.

"I little farther," Bellamy shouted up at them.

Ella huffed, trying to pull her weight even though she was probably the weakest one there as they lowered Bellamy the last few feet, until suddenly the rope went slack.

Ella's heart stopped.

"Bell!" shouted Miller, still holding tightly to the rope.

They all wanted to run to the edge of the cliff to see what had happened to him, but doing so would mean letting to much slack rope go and if he was in fact all right, and he slipped again, he would fall even farther and the weight would be too much for them to take.

"It's a girl!" shouted Bellamy, causing all of them to moan with relief that he was alright.

"Is she one of ours?" called Murphy.

"She not from camp, but she's defiantly from the Ark!"

Murphy looked back at her with a confused expression, that she was sure was mirrored in her own.

"She couldn't be from the Exodus ship," said Ella, though it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"No, there's no way, that thing was completely destroyed. No one could have survived that," said Jasper.

"Is she still alive?" called Miller.

"She is, but she's unconscious. Looks like she's been out her for a really long time. There's no way that I can tie her in securely enough to where she won't fall right back out when you pull her back up, you're going to have to pull us up together."

Ella went white.

"You heard him," said Miller, giving the rope a slight tug, pulling it back tightly to get ready to lift them back up.

The others did the same, taking their positions, bending their knees slightly in preparation of the hundreds of pounds that were about to be put on them. Everyone's hearts were pounding – if they lost their grip on the rope than Bellamy could fall to his death, and if the person at the back (which just so happened to be Ella) wasn't ready and bumped into Murphy when the weight was dropped, it would cause a domino effect, pulling them all off the side of the cliff with them.

"Ready?" Bellamy called up.

Miller looked back at them, scanning down the line of teens as they all gave him a quick nod of the head.

"Ready!" shouted Miller.

And, he dropped.

The rope was jerked forward so fast that for a fleeting, terrifying moment, Ella thought that they were going over and tugged back as hard as she could. Miller stopped right at the edge, his face completely white, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"Pull!" he yelled back at them.

Digging her heels into the ground, the rope was slowly pulled upward. They were able to pull Miller away from the cliff and out of harms way.

Ella's arms were on fire, and without missing a beat, she gripped the rope in her heads and turned around backwards so that she could prop it over her left shoulder, finding this an easier position and one she could use her whole body to put strength into.

"Almost," grumbled Bellamy from behind her and let out a sigh of relief.

 _It was almost over._

As soon as the rope once again went slack, Ella whipped around to find Bellamy sitting on the edge of the cliff, Miller, Murphy and Finn helping to take the limp form of a girl off of his shoulders.

Jasper coiled the rope back up and flung it at Bell's pack as he and Ella joined the small group that was bent over the girl a safe distance away from the cliff.

Threw the cracks of male body parts, Ella could see Bellamy putting his head to her chest, listening for a heartbeat.

"It's slow, but it's there," he said.

"We have to get her back to camp. She's dehydrated, sun burnt and has at least two serious wounds that are starting to become infected," said Murphy. "I'm surprised that she's survived this long."

Ella heard a sound that was somewhere between a gasp and a choke from behind her and turned around to see Jasper standing there, his face white and looking as though he was about to faint at any second. The only audible thing that she could make out from him was a single word.

A name.

"Emile," he breathed.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Very sorry that I couldn't get this chapter up until this morning, but my weekend is pretty packed, and I really wanted to get a chapter written for you that wasn't just thrown together. Just like the last time this happened, you will be getting two chapters today. :)**

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Chapter 19

Ella Pov

The walk back to camp was the most silent any of their trips had ever been. No one said a word.

They were all walking single file down the dirt path that they had marked out on the way there. Bellamy took up the front as usual with Finn behind him and then Miller. Jasper held Emile's limp form in his arms, and though the girl was small, Ella was still surprised that he could lift her with such ease. Like she was made of air.

Ella was walking right behind Murphy, and was constantly glancing from the path to the back of his head. His back was as stiff as a board as she wanted so badly to walk up to him and rub his back and ask him what was wrong.

Something told her that he would just tell her that everything was fine and blow it off. He always did that around the guys.

She looked back at Jasper and saw him staring at Emile's cut, bruised face, his own was turned away from her too far for her to see his expression, though she was sure that if she could see it that she would find one of pain and longing, at the girls broken body.

Ella drew her gaze back to Murphy and wanted desperately to know what he was thinking. She could tell that there was something bothering him more than just her and Jasper's little game – which she was sure was over now - and had been for a while.

He was pulling away from her, and the thought scared her out of her mind. She was afraid that he was replacing her with Harper. She knew that Harper was only dating him to mess with her, and taking Murphy away from her was something Harper would be more than happy to do.

She was so deep in thought that Ella hadn't even noticed that they were close to camp until she heard the shouts and noises from inside. The gate appeared in the distance, and still no one spoke.

With a signal to the boy watching the wall, the gates swung open and they all walked inside, Bellamy falling back a bit to walk beside Jasper and direct him to carry Emile into the Dropship so that Clarke could take a look at her. He threw his burden down on the ground to help him, letting the metal fall with a crash.

Murmurs went threw camp of:

"Who's that?"

"Is she a Grounder?"

"No, that looks like Emile."

"No, that can't be Emile, she wasn't in our group and the Exodus ship crashed, no other ship has come down after it."

"But, they wouldn't bring a Grounder into camp."

"I'm telling you, she's from the Ark!"

Ella ignored them and walked right into her tent to set down her things, then sat down on the edge of her bed. Her energy had been drained, burned by the fear she had felt when they had lowered Bellamy off the cliff and despite having come back at an earlier hour than planned, she felt like she could fall asleep sitting up.

She wanted to go to the Dropship, wanting to know where that girl had come from, if she was in fact from the Ark, but knew that Bellamy wouldn't question her until Clarke took care of her and she had had some rest.

Ella put a hand to her forehead, leaning over so that her elbows where propped up on her knees and took a deep breath, trying to give herself a moment to regain some of her energy to last until night finally came and she could go to sleep.

Finally, feeling like she could stand on her own two legs again, Ella stood back up, cracked her back, and walked back out of her tent.

Most of the teens outside had completely stopped their work and were looking in the direction of the Dropship which had its door currently closed up tight.

Ella's eyebrows raised.

They never closed the Dropship doors, its only cover the large canvas that was attached to the top of it for easy access but still gave those inside some privacy.

She wondered if the girls injury's were worse than they had initially thought. The only reason she could think of as to why they would shut the doors would be because what Clarke had to do to her was a bit more complicated than just cleaning a few wounds and giving the girl a bit of water.

Ella sighed and, not feeling very hungry despite having walked all that way without stopping to eat, went to go sit by the side of the Dropship where she always liked to go when she wanted to be alone.

The plants and grass grew the tallest here having not been walked on by very many people unlike the rest of camp that was nothing but dirt and mud from a hundred sets feet.

After sitting down crossed legged against the ship, Ella turned to watch Miller and Finn bringing in the rest of the metal that was left in their hast to get the girl some help, and figured that both Bellamy and Jasper were inside the Dropship with Clarke and Emile. But, after scanning the entire camp, she couldn't find Murphy. He never really went back to his tent for very long after a hike, unless he was with her.

She drew her gaze over to his tent that was on the other side of hers and a little out of her range of sight, but she could still see a bit of the front peeking out from behind it and watched to see if he would come out.

Ella sat there for quiet some time before it opened revealing Harper who had a very smug smile on her face. Ella made a noise that sounded to herself like a whimper and got up from where she was sitting, suddenly feeling sick and wanting to lie down, hoping that Harper wouldn't see her.

A fire lit inside of Ella as she stood there staring at Harper. This wasn't right, Murphy didn't deserve to be with someone who was only using him for her little game against Ella. He deserved to be loved.

Before she even made a step in the direction of her tent, Harper saw her standing there and her smile turned into a grin that could only be described as evil, and started making her way to Ella.

Ella groaned, but held her ground. That fire had given her courage. She wasn't going to stand aside while she let this girl rip her and Murphy apart, than leave is heart shattered in a hundred tiny little pieces.

Harper stopped just a few feet in front of her and stood there smiling down at her. Like most people in camp, Harper was about a head taller than she was, but Ella stood there staring the other girl in the eyes.

"Ella darling, I haven't even spoken yet and you're already looking defensive. How cute are you," Harper drawled.

"Enough," said Ella as loud as her lungs would let her when she was standing in front of Harper (which was only a little above a whisper).

"My mind is still a little foggy from the wonderful one-on-one time I just had with Murphy, but it sounded to me as though you were talking back," said Harper sweetly.

"You don't like Murphy, and he doesn't like you, so enough. You can pick on me all you want, but leave him out of this. You hate me not him."

"Ah, yes, thank you for reminding me. But, you see, I'm just having too much fun to stop," she took a step closer. "Murphy is really very good, you know, he can-"

Ella pushed her.

She wasn't even going to give her a chance to trap her in.

Harper stumbled back a few steps, shock written all of her face, but quickly righted herself again and the shock turned to utter fury.

But Ella wasn't finished yet.

"Leave Murphy, I'm sure he'll get over you quickly-"

"How dare you," yelled Harper, nostrils flaring. "Push and continue to insult me. You'll never have Murphy, Never! So, you can whine and moan about how it should be you in there and not me, but guess what, it's not you, it'll never be you because you're a coward. You're afraid of you're own best friend just because you're madly in love with him-"

"You don't even like him! Why can't you just date some you do like and leave Murphy out of this?"

"Why do you care so much whether or not I date him? What if I do like him?" said Harper with a glint in her eyes.

"Because, I love him!" yelled Ella, than snapped her mouth shut and backed away from the girl.

Ella stood there shocked at her own confession, looking around camp with her hand over her mouth at all of the faces staring back at her. Among those faces was Murphy, standing a few feet behind Harper as though he was about to come break up the fight and stopped when he heard, along with the whole camp what Harper had been trying to get out of her this whole time.

Tears came to Ella's eyes as she looked at Murphy.

"Murphy," she whispered, then, unable to bare looking at him anymore, shot straight for the gates that were still open from the boys bringing in the metal and out into the woods for a second time. But, instead of Raven chasing after her, this time it was Murphy.

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 **A/N: :D**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: The chapter that you have all been waiting for is finally here!**

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Chapter 20

Ella Pov

Ella's feet were made of air as she ran. She didn't even feel them hit the ground with every step, but ran as though her life depended on it. She knew he was following her and she was sure that she wouldn't be half as scared if it were a Grounder chasing after her.

Gone was the exhaustion of the hike to and from the Exodus ship, fear coming back to fuel her adrenaline.

She couldn't run forever though.

Ella tried her hardest not to run in a straight line, but made quick cuts threw the woods and swerved around trees, but still, she could hear Murphy's voice calling after her, right on her tail.

A second later, she felt his strong hand grasp her arm and gasped as he spun her around, forcing her to come to a halt and pinning her against a tree in one movement.

Ella's heart was beating so fast and her breath was coming in pants. She couldn't meet his eyes and felt tears pricking at the backs of her eyelids as she waited for the rejection. For him to ask her what she was thinking, and how she could ever think that they could be anything more than friends.

He didn't say anything for such a long time, but just stood there in front of her caging her body in with his own, a hand on either side of her head and one knee propped between both of her legs, his own knee hitting the back of the tree. His breath was hot on her face as he looked down at her, coming in short breaths and she stared at the rapid rise and fall of his chest.

Still he didn't say anything.

Was he _trying_ to torture her?

 _Just get it over with_ , she thought.

The tears that had been threatening to fall did as she slowly looked up at his face with vulnerable blue eyes. But, instead of seeing disgust or annoyance, she saw wonder and something so soft that it made her heart nearly stop beating in her chest.

She opened her quivering mouth to say something, maybe to take back what she had said to Harper, but was cut off as his lips crashed to hers.

The kiss wasn't gentle or restrained as he had always been when he touched her, but passionate and frenzied. Years of tension rising to the surface.

She gasped as his lips devoured her mouth, kissing her senseless. She kissed him back just as eagerly, bringing her hands that were currently pinned to her sides up to tangle in his hair, pulling on the loose strands.

He groaned and flattened his body to hers, both of them trying to get closer.

"Ella," he groaned against her neck, breaking the kiss to trail his lips down her throat, biting her soft pulse point.

She gasped and shuttered in his strong arms. He started sucking on her pulse and she cupped the back of his head, pulling him closer, moaning his name.

His arms were wrapped around her small waist and he nuzzled his head in the crook of her neck, just holding her against him, his breath ragged.

"I love you," he growled, his voice dripping desire.

"I-I love y-you too," she stuttered, unable to seem to hold onto any coherent thought.

She felt him smile against her neck and she smiled back, a choked laugh escaping her throat, then she frowned.

"But, what about Harper?"

He straightened and looked her in the eye and she blushed when she saw how dark his pupils had become.

"I was kind of looking for a way out of that relationship, anyway," he said smirking at her.

"Well, I'm glad I could give you the excuse you needed," she said with mock hurt.

He laughed and wrapped her back up in his arms kissing her bare shoulder, feeling more peaceful than ever before.

 _This is what is feels like to be happy_ , she thought.

Never before had Ella felt happy without feeling weighed down by anything else, always having to smile a smile that didn't reach her eyes so that no one would ask her what was wrong.

For once in her life, nothing else mattered. For once in her life she felt completely and undeniably happy. They were young and juvenile, without a care in the world.

Murphy began to nibble lightly at her ear and she hummed in approval before be captured her lips again. This time, he was careful with her, exploring her mouth and she smiled against his lips when his tongue gently prodded her lips to which she immediately granted entrance to her mouth. It swept inside and she gasped again at the pleasure of it, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He was terribly good at this, and she tried not to think about the practice that he had had to get that good and just enjoy the fact that he good, and he was all hers.

She, on the other hand was very inexperienced, having never had a boyfriend before, her only experience with kissing being with a boy in third grade who had stolen a kiss from her at lunch and then again at the party the other night when she had been too drunk to really remember it.

She wondered for a moment if she was bad at it.

Murphy pulled away from her to look her in the eye.

"You're thinking," he growled.

The sound of his voice made her want to melt.

"What's wrong?"

Ella blushed and looked at the ground.

"I'm not very good at this, am I?" she whispered, unable to make her voice any louder.

He looked truly taken aback by that.

"Not good at what?"

Ella let out a gasping laugh, biting her kiss swollen lip and looking at the ground, her hair in disarray from his hands raking threw it, and cheeks flushed.

He thought that it had to be the cutest thing he had ever seen and placed a hand on her cheek, rubbing her thumb over her soft flesh.

"I could kiss you all day," he whispered, running his thumb along her bottom lip.

She smiled up at him and he couldn't help but brush his lips over hers one more time.

"Come on, lets go back to camp before they send a party out to look for us," said Murphy, taking Ella by the hand.

She felt as though her legs were going to give out on her when he removed his body from hers, no longer holding her up.

He smiled when he saw how wobbly her legs were and the dazed state she was in and wrapped an arm around her waist to help hold her up.

She looked up at him gratefully, taking the hand around her waist and twining her fingers with it.

"You know you're still technically dating Harper right?" said Ella as they headed back to camp.

"Ah, yeah, I was wondering if maybe you could break up with her for me," said Murphy jokingly.

Ella shook her head giggling.

"She's _your_ girlfriend."

"Yeah, but I think it would be better coming from a girl."

"Something tells me that be broken up with by the girl your boyfriend just made-out with in the middle of the woods would not be better than your boyfriend breaking up with you himself."

"Maybe Raven could do it," he said, bumping her in the side.

Ella laughed. "Yeah, I would just love to watch that blow up in our faces," she smiled.

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 **A/N: I know that it was sappy, but hey, I just couldn't help myself. :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Now that Ella and Murphy have had their moment, it's time to cause some more trouble. ;)**

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Chapter 21

Raven Pov

Raven sat at the table bent over a complicated string of wires that she had been trying to untangle for the last half-hour in the dimly lit tent that had been set up for her Monty and Jasper to work in.

The light from outside was just enough to illuminate the interior of the tent, but she knew that she had to work fast if she wanted to finish before nightfall.

Her eyes were becoming tired from looking at the string of wires for so long, and her aggravation was growing by the minute. Just when she was about to throw it across the tent, she felt a tap on her shoulder, making her jump tent feet in the air.

"Sorry!" Monty apologized quickly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Raven sighed, lifting a hand to her forehead, then racking it threw her hair which was currently up in a pony tail, making it looser than it already was, and causing even more strands to fall from it.

"That's okay," she breathed.

"Are you alright?" he asked with a frown, taking the seat opposite her at the table.

Her eyebrows raised. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"It's just that, you seem to be kind of jumpy lately."

As he talked, he picked up another mess of wires and started to untangle it as well.

"I think I'm just stressed. Bellamy is expecting so much of me – of us, and without Jasper, it's just making things harder," she lied.

Monty nodded, looking at her from across the table.

"Well, whenever you need me, I'm here for you," he said shyly.

This made Raven extremely guilty for leading him on like she had been, and knew that Ella was, right, that she should stop, but had no idea why it was so hard. It felt good having someone admire her the way Monty did. She only really ever saw Finn at night in the tent they shared. During the day, he was either off doing something important with Bellamy or Clarke, and took his meals in the Dropship.

She knew that Finn loved her, and when he was with her he was always kind and loving.

Maybe she was greedy, but she wanted more than just being with someone who loved her for only an hour a day.

Raven smiled sweetly at Monty, then ran the back of her hand over her forehead as if she were hot and stood up to slide her jacket of her shoulders. She placed it on the back of her chair and stretched, arching her back as Monty watched her, his cheeks turning pink.

He coughed and snapped his eyes quickly back to his work when she looked down at him with a smirk.

Raven took her seat again, but instead of going back to work, she leaned over the table, bracing an elbow on the surface and resting the side of her head in her open palm.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend, Monty?"

His eyes snapped back to her so quickly that she thought it had to have made him dizzy.

"W-what?"

"Well, I can't imagine that you've been single your entire life as charming as you are," she said with a sly smile.

He swallowed, the blush returning to his face at full-force.

"No, I never have," he said quietly, clearly embarrassed to admit it.

She smiled at how innocent he looked.

"Now that _is_ surprising. Any girl would be lucky to be with you."

She was leaning over the table so much that her cleavage was clearly visible from where he was sitting.

"R-Really?" he stammered, leaning over to get a better view without even realizing that he was doing it.

 _Why did it have to feel so good to have this kind of power over someone?_

"Really. I know I would," she said seductively.

Just then, the flap of the tent opened, causing Raven to quickly move back in her chair and pick the tangle of wires back up as Monty too snapped out of his trance and set to work.

"Hey," came Finn's voice from behind her, making her stiffen, not expecting him to be the one to walk in.

"Hey," said Raven, turning around in her chair to look at him, hoping that he couldn't see the guilt she felt written all over her face at seeing him.

He stared at her for a while as if he were trying to read her mind, and she squirmed around in her chair, his intense gaze making her very uncomfortable.

"Bellamy wanted me to give you this," he finally said, handing her a circuit board that she guessed had been a part of the Exodus ship. "He had it in his backpack and forgot to give to you when we returned."

Once she took it from him, he turned right around, lifting up the flap again to leave.

"Wait," she said quickly before he stepped back outside. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for a while?"

He looked from her to Monty with narrowed eyes.

"No, I've got work to do."

"Finn-" she started, but he had already ducked under the opening, letting the flap swing closed behind him.

She huffed, her heart sinking as she mentally kicked herself.

She looked back at Monty, but he seemed very interested in the piece of wire he was untangling, not returning her gaze.

Raven sighed and placed the circuit board on the table in front of her, suddenly feeling restless and fidgeting around in her chair. She wanted so badly to take a break and go for a walk to get out of the awkward tension inside the tent and try to get rid of her restlessness, but she didn't want to chance running into James.

He was really starting to give her the creeps and was the real reason she had been feeling so jumpy lately. He wouldn't seem to leave her alone even though there were dozens of other girls in camp for him to pick on – she had no idea what made her so special.

Even in a camp full of people in broad daylight she didn't feel safe around him. The only person she could think of to take a walk with would be Monty, who she figured would not help her cause at the moment. She could try to find Ella, but that would defeat the whole purpose of not walking around by herself.

Raven looked back at the wires in front of her, the sight making her sick, and pushed them away like a child pushing away her diner.

"I'm board," she said, not taking her eyes off the wires and leaning back in her chair, making it tip slightly backwards with her arms crossed.

Monty glanced up from his work to look at her, not knowing what to say to that.

She suddenly wished that Jasper was here. He always seemed to be the glue for anyone he was with, keeping conversations light, always knowing what to say even in the awkwardest of situations.

"I wonder where Jasper is," said Monty, breaking the silence, mirroring her own thoughts. "Maybe he could help us with this."

"Doubt it," she said more bitterly than she had meant to.

Monty didn't seem to be taken off guard by that, but looked angrily down at the table.

"Yeah, he's completely ditched us."

Raven was surprised to her the anger in his voice. She didn't think that she had ever seen Monty angry before.

He looked back up at her quickly after he said that, his features instantly softening.

"I mean, I don't know," he said quietly.

"How long have you two known each other?"

"Our whole lives. He's by best friend, or at least he was. He really doesn't hang out with me that much anymore," he said sadly.

Her heart squeezed for him.

"I'm sorry," she said, letting her chair fall forward again. "But, hey, at least you have me, right?"

He smiled up at her and she smiled back.

 _Stop it, Raven,_ she thought. _Listen to_ _Ella. This is going to blow up in your face._


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Ella Pov

Ella tried so hard not to cry into Murphy's shirt as he held her in his lap under one of the trees inside of camp that grew on the far west side of the wall. It felt so good to be held by him again.

Where they sat was a good ways away from the main part of camp and out of sight of any of the other residents.

Ella was sitting sideways on his lap, with her legs pulled up, resting on the side of the tree, her head laying against his chest as he lightly played with her hair like he had done so many times before.

Ella tipped her head up to look at his face and saw his head resting against the tree tilted up with his eyes closed. He opened them halfway when he felt her eyes on him and she blushed, looking back down at the ground, feeling his chest shake with silent laughter.

"What's the matter, kid? Shy around me?" he said, nuzzling her ear.

"No," she said quickly, her face turning even redder.

He laughed again, hooking a finger under her chin and lifting her head up to look at him and smiling down at her. She lifted it a little more, putted her lips on offer and his smile widened as he bent down to brush his lips over hers gently.

When he pulled away, she felt light headed just from the light kiss and Murphy smirked at her when he opened his eyes, making her scowl at the superiority she knew he felt.

He laughed even harder.

"You know," she said, looking in the direction of the main part of camp where the others were still hard at work. "I really think that you need to talk to Harper before she finds out about us on her own."

Murphy frowned, scratching his head. "Well, I don't think we were exclusive."

She turned her head back to look at him, rolling her eyes. "You don't have to talk to someone about being exclusive, it's just sort of implied. You can talk to them about being able to date other people as well, but until that time, you're exclusive."

She stopped then, a more serious expression coming to her face.

" _We're_ exclusive right? I mean, you don't want to date other people do you? You _are_ planning on breaking up with Harper?"

Murphy cupped both sides of her head at her panicked expression, looking deep into her eyes.

"Ella, you're never going to understand how much you mean to me – how much, or how long I have loved you. I want you and only you. Trust me, the last thing you have to worry about is me wanting to date other people," he said sincerely.

She took a deep breath and gave him a small smile. "I don't really know how this works. You're the first real boyfriend I've ever had."

He smiled when she said boyfriend.

"So, you and Jasper..."

Her eyes widened. "Oh, we're just friends, I promise. Besides, he has Emile now, if Clarke can heal her."

"Emile?"

She flinched, not sure if Jasper would have wanted her to say anything about what he had told her in confidence, but she didn't want to start out her new and delicate relationship off with secrets.

"Yeah, he knew her when they were on the Ark," was all she said, hoping that he wouldn't ask her anymore about it.

"Oh," he said, seeming to lose interest.

He had to be the only one in camp who wasn't dying to know who she was and where she had come from.

"You know, I never got to share your tent with you after losing to you fair and square in our knife throwing practice. I think it's only right to take my punishment," he smirked.

She stiffened, for some reason feeling anxious about the thought of them sleeping in the same bed together, though they had done so thousands of times before.

He noticed.

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "I wasn't suggesting we do anything, just sleep."

She tried to force herself to relax, but for some reason that didn't make her feel any better.

She knew that he wasn't going to make her feel like she had to do anything that she wasn't ready to, but the thought of being in the same bed with him now made her feel anxious as well as a little excited. Like it was something new for them.

She guessed it was in a way.

She laid back against his chest again, gripping his shirt with her hands and snuggling back in and started to draw slow lazy circles with her pointer finger on his stomach smiling when the muscles jumped.

Before, she had thought that there would be no way that she could ever feel closer to him than she already did.

She had been terribly wrong.

Ella had the feeling that if he even got up and left her for a minute that she would miss him terribly, waiting for him to come back.

She knew that until Murphy had officially broken up with Harper, that what they were doing was wrong, but the feeling excited her. She never broke the rules, always doing the right thing.

Though, she supposed that she was no longer in a position to lecture Raven on right and wrong when it came to relationships.

However, even after her fight with Harper, she still was still afraid of the girl. Having her find out that she was going behind her back with Murphy was a sure fire way of getting herself smothered to death in her sleep.

A shiver went down her spin and Murphy wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"Are you cold?" he asked gently.

The sun had already begun to set and the hot air was starting to cool down a bit, but despite the slight breeze, it was still fairly warm out.

"When are you going to break up with Harper?" she asked, instead of answering his question.

"Soon."

"How soon? I really don't want to bother you about this, but I don't think that we should do anything anymore until you do."

He stiffened.

"Alright," Murphy said quickly, knowing that neither one of them could handle keeping their hands off of each other for very long.

He started to get up right then, but she stopped him quickly with a hand to his chest.

"Wait, maybe you could wait just a few more minutes," she said quietly.

He laughed. "You know, you should really make your mind up about this."

Ella smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, straddling his hips, breathing in his purely male scent as she rested her head on his should, wanting to get as close to him as she could. Murphy wrapped both his arms around her small waist and pressed her flat against his chest.

"You know someone could see us Rossetti. And, something tells me that you don't want to take this public until I break up with Harper," he said, though he made no move to remove her.

"Everyone's still busy with their work. Me, you, Finn, Miller, Jasper and Bellamy are the only ones who aren't and all of them are in the Dropship except Miller who is probably chasing after random girls in camp," she mumbled against the crook of his neck.

They were hidden from the rest of camp by the tents in front of them that were placed a little ways away from the trees where they sat, the sun breaking over them and lighting Ella's sliver hair on fire.

"Well in that case-" said Murphy, suddenly pushing her back on the ground, one of his legs resting between both of hers, propping himself up on his forearms on either side of her head and capturing her lips.

She gasped – a sound that he was starting to love hearing as she begun to kiss him back eagerly, wrapping her legs around his waist.

As soon as he started kissing her, he didn't think that he would have the power to stop. She wriggled and moaned beneath him and the sounds seemed to throw him into a frenzy.

When he thought that she probably wasn't getting enough air, he moved his lips to her neck making her laugh for no other reason than the fact that she was happy and the sound warmed him.

Ella tilted her head back when he started nibbling at her collar bone, but stiffened when she heard the sound of rustling leaves coming from behind Murphy, out of her line of vision.

"Did you hear that?" she said, sitting up and bringing his wicked lips to a halt.

"Hear what?" he growled, making Ella blushed at hearing that tone in his voice again.

"Never mind."

Noise forgotten, she grabbed onto the front of his shirt and kissed him deeply, daring his lips to battle her own.

Neither of them noticed the figure behind them as it moved closer to where they were sitting.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Jasper Pov

Jasper sat with his back against the wall, his head in his hands, pulling on his hair, elbows resting on his knees which were pulled up and stared down at the ground.

When they had brought Emile into the Dropship Clarke had taken one look at her and told him that he was going to have to leave so that she could help her without any interruptions. She had asked Bellamy if he could stay with her to help her and when he had asked if he could do it, Bellamy said no, not with the way Jasper was shaking. Jasper said that he wasn't going to leave her and Clarke ordered him to wait upstairs in the hatch directly above them if he wanted to stay.

With one last look at the broken girl on the table, who's face had turned shockingly pale, he stopped arguing at once and climbed up the ladder, lifting up the heavy door on the ceiling and climbing inside so that Clarke could get to work.

And, that's where he sat now, against the cold steal wall of the Dropship.

The space up here was only a bit smaller than in the main compartment below, though it felt larger because the room was empty but for a few supplies that were kept along the walls.

He had been up there for over an hour and had yet to move from this spot, stuck there from fear as well as shock.

 _What was she doing here?_

 _How did she end up on the side of the cliff?_

He had wanted to ask Bellamy how she had managed not to fall if she had been unconscious when he had found her, but he had been in such a state of shock on the walk back that he couldn't, and once they had brought the girl into camp, everything else was a blur of rushing her in to Clarke and setting her limp form on the table as she brought her tools on a tray over to where Emile laid.

The floor was so thick that it was hard to hear anything that was coming from the bottom level.

He thought he heard the murmur of voices as Clarke instructed Bellamy on what she needed him to do, but Emile's voice was yet to be heard, and he figured that she was still unconscious.

It was probably for the best at the moment. He didn't think that waking up in the middle of whatever Clarke was doing to her would be a very good thing.

He pictured waking up on a table in a foreign place to someone stabbing a needle into your skin, sewing it back together.

He almost made himself throw up thinking about it, and decided to keep his mind on something else.

A loud bang sounded from beneath him, his already nervous state causing him to nearly have a heart attack.

Another male voice could be heard now and after a while the sound of someone climbing the ladder.

Jasper shot straight to his feet, when the hatch lifted and Finn's head popped up from under it. He looked over at Jasper before hoisting himself up to sit on the floor and closing it behind him with a soft click.

"Is Emile okay?" asked Jasper before Finn even had the chance to stand up.

Finn got to his feet and crossed the room to an almost insane looking Jasper.

"I don't know," he said. "Clarke wouldn't tell me anything."

Jasper sighed, his heart pounding.

"How did you get in?" he asked.

"They opened the Dropship door so that Bellamy could go get some plant or whatever from the woods. Clarke saw me when it opened and asked if I could come check on you. She said you've been up here for two hours?" he said the last part as a question, the scowl that had been on his face when he first came up softening a bit.

Jasper ran a hand threw his hair and sunk down against the wall until he reached the floor with his legs kicked out in front of him.

"I feels like weeks," he said quietly.

Finn looked down at the ground then back at Jasper and came to sit against the wall beside him cross-legged.

Jasper thought that he was going to ask him something about Emile, like how he knew her or some such thing, but they just sat there, the silence stretching out before them. It was Jasper who finally broke it.

"Did you and Raven get in a fight or something?" he asked.

Finn stiffened, the scowl returning to his face as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Believe it or not, you're actually the second person who's asked me that today," he said, thinking about the humiliating conversation he had had with Murphy that morning, Jasper's comment coming dangerously close to what he had said.

Jasper stared at him, waiting for him to answer.

"Have you noticed anything weird going on with Raven and Monty?" he asked, drawing his eyes back to Jasper.

Jasper looked away, not sure how to answer that.

He had noticed Raven flirting with his friend a few times, and she was all Monty ever talked about when they were together, though admittedly that wasn't very often.

He had wondered about it before, but thought that it must just be her personality. He didn't know the girl very well and figured that that must just be the way she interacted with everyone. But, Finn had noticed it to, which meant that his first suspicions had been correct.

Finn took his silence as a confirmation.

"Right," he said bitterly.

"I'm sure it's nothing," said Jasper quickly, glad to have something to take his mind off of what was happening below them.

"I never had to worry about things like this before," Finn went on as if he hadn't even heard him. "We were good on the Ark – more than good. I don't know what happened."

The bitterness in his voice gave way to sadness and Jasper didn't think that he had ever seen Finn this vulnerable before. He was always strong, always the peacemaker who everyone relied on to be there for them. He never needed anyone.

"Have you talked to her about it?"

"I can't just accuse her of something that I'm not even sure of," he said torn. "Believe me, that would only make things ten times worse."

Jasper had to smother the smile that tried to come to his lips.

"Yeah, she has a way of getting under people's skin. That's probably why you and Raven getting into a fight is always the first conclusion drawn when anyone sees you in a bad mood."

Finn smiled reluctantly. "I love that about her though. She can be so manipulative, and drive me insane, but if that part of her was taken away I would miss it."

Jasper let the smile come to his lips.

He hadn't know Finn for very long, but they just seemed to fall into a kind of companionship from day one, always having each others backs.

Jasper looked over at him, giving him an encouraging smile.

"I really don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to Monty. I know him better than anyone, the guy is completely harmless," he said with a laugh.

That seemed to make Finn feel a little bit better, though he still seemed distraught.

"But, what if it isn't Monty at all? What if it's me? What if I'm the problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't had much time to spend with her."

Jasper nodded in understanding.

"You think that she might go somewhere else for attention."

Finn flinched when he heard his thoughts said aloud.

"She just always seems so strong, like she doesn't need me to take care of her," said Finn, shaking his head.

"And, I'm sure she doesn't, but taking care of someone and being there for them are two totally different things."

Finn's eyebrows drew together as he stared off in the distance, thinking about that for a second.

"You know, you should have been working to be a councilor on the the Ark, not a mechanic" said Finn wryly.

Jasper laughed, hitting Finn in the chest with the back of his hand.

Finn sighed, the bad mood he had come in with seeming to almost completely disappear.

"Thanks," said Finn, rolling his head over to the side to look Jasper in the eyes.

The corner of Jasper's mouth lifted in a half smile.

"It's what I'm here for," he said lightheartedly, then grew serious. "And, thank _you_."

"For what?"

"Not, asking me about Emile," Jasper said to the opposite wall.

"You're welcome," he said knowingly.

Below them, they could hear the sound of the Dropship door opening again, and Bellamy's voice coming threw it, talking to Clarke about the different plants and herbs he had found.

The door closed, and just when the voices started dying down as Clarke got back to work, a scream ripped threw the Dropship, making Jasper and Finn shoot straight to their feet, running for the hatch.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: I decided that what the story was missing was just a bit more darkness...**

* * *

Chapter 24

Ella Pov

Something wasn't right, Ella could feel it. She knew that she had heard something in the foliage around them, but hated the idea of leaving Murphy's embrace, and instead glanced over to the few surrounding trees and bushes for any movement in between kisses.

Murphy noticed and stopped, lifting his face to look at her.

"What is it?" he asked, his eyes having darkened a considerable amount in just a short amount of time.

"Maybe we should go in my tent," she said, biting her lip and looking around at the trees one last time.

Murphy smirked and shook his head.

"What's wrong, afraid a two-headed deer is going to get you?"

Ella rolled her eyes. Murphy was one of the few people in camp who wasn't completely shocked at finding that some of the animals down here were deformed, one of those being a deer they had found out in the woods with two heads.

"No, it's just getting cold."

Though this was true, Ella was far from feeling the crisp night air as the sky darkened, now almost disappearing completely behind the tree line, painting the sky with colors of pink orange and purple. Murphy's body heat was more than enough to keep her warm.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," he said darkly and kissed her deeply again before getting to his feet with a grunt. "But, I guess I have to take my punishment."

He smiled at her, holding out his hand, which she grabbed, and hoisted her to her feet.

She smiled back at him, suddenly feeling giddy as they turned in the direction of her tent, hand in hand. But, before they could take more than one step in its direction, they heard a rustling of leaves from behind them.

They both turned at the sound, but the area was know much too dark to see, everything looking black and out of focus.

"Okay, I heard it that time," said Murphy.

He let go of her hand and started walking in the direction of the noise. Ella ran up to him and gripped his bicep.

"Don't go over there!" she whispered, her eyes wide.

"Scared are we, Rossetti?" he mocked lightheartedly, taking another step towards the trees.

She pulled on his arm for him to come back, but he flashed her a challenging smile and kept walking.

He walked right up to the tree line, narrowing his eyes to try and make out the source of the noise.

All he could see was black.

He turned back around to look at her and almost laughed when he saw the look of panic on her face.

"Relax," he said. "The fence starts right back here, there's no way that anything or anyone can get in. I'm sure that it was just a squirrel or something."

Just when Ella was starting to relax, a look of shock went over Murphy's face and he fell limply to the ground.

"Murphy!" Ella screamed, running to his side.

Before she could reach him, something was pulled over her head and two strong arms wrapped around her body, pinning her arms behind her. A thin piece of rope was being wrapped around her wrists several times, binding them.

She tried to scream, tried to call out for help, but as soon as she sucked air into her lungs, she choked on the dust inside the bag and felt like she was being suffocated.

No voices could be heard and the pair of hands that held her in place were the only set that she had felt so far.

 _Maybe they were alone._

Ella struggled against the strong grasp, kicking her feet out under herself. But, suddenly, she was lifted into the air as though she weighed no more than a feather, and all her feet connected with was air as she kept up her losing fight.

She, felt another set of hands grabbing first one than both of her feet and hooking an arm around them as the figure tied her ankles together, then was swung up into the air, held in the first pair of arms like a baby.

All she could do was thrash her torso around and bend her knees trying to break free.

It did little good.

The ropes were far too tight and she felt lightheaded from the lack of air getting to her lungs.

When she was dropped to her stomach on the ground a feeling of dread went through her. But, what was running threw her head didn't become a reality when she realized that she was being dragged by her hands a few feet from where she was dropped, then picked back up again.

She fought even harder when she felt the jolting motion of being carried away from camp.

There was no noise as she fought from the man's grasp.

And she was sure by the build of the person carrying her that it was a man by the wide flat chest.

No one was coming for her.

All she could hear was the light crunch of twigs under his feet and his companions. She thought that there were only two sets, though she was in such a state of panic that she could have been wrong.

Whatever had been placed over her head was made of cloth and threw it she could see only black. They didn't have a torch or any other illumination to light their way. The sun had gone down a while ago and she wondered how they knew where they were going.

The breath was quickly leaving her lungs as she tried to call for help again, but it was so dry from the dust in it that nothing came out but a strained whisper.

She wanted to cry, but tried her hardest to hold it back. She had to keep a straight head if she was going to get out of this.

Despite her lightheaded state, she started to fight even harder, trying to connect her heels with something solid.

Nothing.

Just when she thought that she might hit his hip he held her a little ways away from him until it came back down, always blocking whatever she tried to do.

The darkness was suffocating her even more than the dust until she couldn't tell if her eyes were open or closed from the darkness and the unfocused feeling she had as if her vision was going blurry, though it was too dark to tell.

She felt her body start to relax with the feeling of not being inside of it at all. Her head fell against the man's chest, her eyes closing involuntarily. Her head then slid off his chest backwards, flopping back over the arm holding her neck as she slipped out of consciousness.

* * *

 **A/N: I know that the chapter was a short one, but there wasn't much else I could do with it, so decided to just leave it as is.**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: You would not believe the trouble I had with getting this chapter to you. Another one will be up in a few hours. Thank you so much for your patients. :)**

* * *

Chapter 25

Ella Pov

Ella's eyes fluttered open, a groan escaping her lips. The first thing she was aware of was pain. She had no idea what the source of it was, her whole body felt like it was on fire. Her legs ached, half asleep as if not enough blood was getting to them.

Her mind felt foggy and she had no idea where she was, she let her head fall forward and gasped, trying to scream, but no sound came out.

She was at least ten feet up in the air, and the pain she felt in her back was coming from the bark on the tree behind her. There was a rope surrounding her waist roped around at least a dozen times, holding her up. Her wrists were still tied behind her back and her feet were resting on a single branch. Her mouth was gagged, unnecessary seeing as there was no longer any moisture left in her mouth.

Her lips were dry and cracked and her tongue felt like sandpaper in her mouth.

The sun was up, blazing down on her and she realized that she had been knocked out all night and was glad that she hadn't woken in the dark to find herself this way.

The images of what had happened last night flooded threw her brain and her gaze quickly scanned the surrounding trees for any sign of Murphy. But he wasn't there.

She had no idea where she was. She was tied up in the middle of the woods, nothing familiar.

Her heart was racing as she struggled to free herself of the bindings.

That's when she felt the rope at her throat.

She looked up and saw to her horror that a noose had been tied around her neck. If the tree branch under her feet snapped or the ropes slipped down the trunk it would tighten around her throat and cut off her air. And, she wouldn't be able to do anything about it with the ropes secured around her wrists. She had no choice but to stop her struggle

Ella started to panic, pulling at the ropes binding her wrists, choked sobs escaping her throat, but no tears would come. Her system was empty of water or food and her stomach felt hollow, adding to the pain she felt.

"Murphy!" she tried to scream, but it came out as no more than a croaked whisper.

Murphy Pov

The pounding in his head woke Murphy up from the terrible nightmare he was having of someone hiding in the woods to take Ella away from him.

He was lying on his back with his head facing away from the rest of his tent, he smiled when he felt the bed dipping down beside him and thought of Ella's sleeping form cuddled up behind him. He turned his head around and stiffened.

Raven was lying beside him fully awake, one leg pulled up and the other resting across it as she tossed a wadded bloody rag in the air and catching it as it opened when it came back down.

"How many times do people have to tell you not to show up in their beds with blood soaked rags," he grumbled.

Raven's mouthed lifted at the corners reluctantly, but it quickly disappeared as she sat up to look at him.

"Good to see the blow to your head didn't take your charm away," said Raven sarcastically.

Murphy frowned. "What blow?"

He lifted his hand to the back of his head when a sudden pain shot threw it and winced when he felt the bandage that was tightly wrapped around his head.

"I found you lying on she ground in the west corner of camp. Who did you get into a fight with this time?"

Murphy shot straight up eyes wide and heart pounding in his ears. "Where's Ella?"

She looked at him incredulously. "What do you mean 'where's Ella'? She's in the Dropship helping Clarke, right? I've been looking all over camp for her and that's the only place I can't get to."

Murphy shook his head rubbing his face with two open palms.

"No, she was with me. Last night we were sitting by one of the trees near where you said you found me and we heard something in the brush. I went to go see what is was and-" he broke off looking up at her shaking his head again, ignoring the pain this caused him. "Nothing."

Raven was on her feet in an instant, running out of Murphy's tent.

With a groan, Murphy forced himself to get to his feet as well, trying to go as fast as he could when spots blurred his vision.

He wasn't wearing a shirt and didn't bother with putting one on, only stopping to slip his feet into his hiking boots before following Raven outside.

His head was pounding in time with his pulse as he followed Raven through the back of camp, running until they reached the far west side where a dozen or so trees grew around bushes and thickets.

Now that it was light out the back of the fence was clearly seen threw the brakes in the trees and Raven walked threw the close growing plants until she reached it, lifting her hand to press it against the smooth wood.

Murphy had to rest a hand against the closest tree to him, bending over trying to catch his breath. The blood he had lost was making him dizzy, but he kept his mind focused on Ella.

He watched as Raven bent down to look at something at the bottom of the fence then turned her head to look at him, her face ashen.

"The wall is weak back here. There's a perfect gap for someone to fit through," she said, getting to her feet, walking right past him. "We have to tell Bellamy."

She stormed over to the Dropship with Murphy keeping up as best he could, stopping when she reached the cold metal door.

Most of the camp was up now and were watching as Raven banged her fist against the door. She stopped when she heard the screaming coming from inside and Clarke yelling out instruction, knowing that whatever was going on in there was going to be second to finding Ella.

Her lips tightened in frustration and she spun around, walking to the gate where Miller stood talking to the boy who was watching the wall, leaning against it with one foot propped up.

"Where's Ella?" she demanded.

He dropped the leg that was on the wall, standing straight to look her up and down.

"How should I know?" he said with a sly smile.

Her blood boiled at his cocky attitude and was sure that her face said that she wasn't in the mood by the way he seemed to deflate a bit at her expression.

"You were on watch last night. Did you see anyone come in or out?"

He grew serious at that. "No, of course not, what are you talking about?"

"Someone got in and clocked Murphy over the head where the trees grow back there. There's a weak spot in the fence hidden by the bushes," she said pointing to where she had just come from. "He was with Ella, and now she is gone."

The last part she enunciated each word clearly as if he were a toddler who wouldn't understand what she was saying unless she talked slow.

He leaned in close to her, talking to her with the same mock measured voice.

"You must be mistaken."

She glared at him.

He looked over her shoulder and his eyes turned weary. She knew he had just seen Murphy who was standing a little ways behind her. Murphy figured that it was best at the moment to let her take the lead with this. He didn't trust himself not to start beating him again.

That look crossed Miller's face ever since his friend had punched him for taking advantage of Ella.

Murphy walked up to stand beside Raven glaring at him.

"Open this gate right now. We have to send out a party, because she's out there somewhere with God knows who doing God knows what to her. And, after what happened at the party I really don't think you want to make things worse for yourself."

Miller stared at the two for a long time, then sighed looking around camp.

"You can take two people with you, but no more," he said finally.

With Bellamy occupied Miller was in charge and he knew that whatever he said went.

Murphy nodded and turned around to retrieve his weapon and a shirt from his tent then scanned the camp.

Jasper, Bellamy and Finn were all in the Dropship and Miller had to stay here to fill in for him.

Raven was strong enough to fight if there was danger, but no one else had been trained.

Monty was the first person his eyes landed on and with a sigh he walked over to him.

"Hey Monty," he said. "I need your help with something."

Monty looked up at Murphy in surprise then behind himself.

Murphy would have laughed if it wasn't for the fear consuming him, thinking about Ella.

"Sure," said Monty once he was sure that it was in fact him that he was talking to. "What do you need?"

"Ella's missing and I need bodies to help me search the woods."

He was proud of how steady he was able to keep his voice.

Monty looked like he had just asked him to streak naked threw the woods, riding a two-headed deer.

"And you want me?"

"I'm out of choices," he said bluntly.

Panic crossed his face. "S-sure. I mean of course! Why wouldn't I want to help?"

Murphy nodded. "Wait at the gate with Raven," he said then walked away, leaving him standing there in shock.

James caught his eye next. He was one of the stronger teens in camp so felt a glimmer of hope with having him there with them.

"Hey," said James coolly when he saw Murphy approaching him.

He had one foot propped against a stump talking to one of the girls in camp that he didn't know the name of, but straighten when he saw him coming, his whole body tensing as if preparing for a fight.

"I need your help."

His body relaxed at that, but Murphy didn't give himself a moment to wonder about that.

"Ella's missing and we're going out to look for her."

James nodded slowly, taking a step towards him.

"Sure, anything to help."

Something about the boy made Murphy pause for a moment, staring at him. But, James just gave him a lopsided smile and a pat on the back as he went to join the others.

Murphy felt tired and lightheaded, but the fear boosted his energy and he determinedly made his way to the gate with the others, signaling for them to open it.

* * *

 **A/N: I was going to cut to a Jasper Pov, but decided that I just couldn't leave you all hanging like that.**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Jasper Pov

Jasper threw open the hatch door, nearly tearing it off its hinges in his rush to get down to the lower level. He climbed down the ladder so fast he almost slipped then jumped when he made it halfway.

"What happened?" he asked in a panic, looking from Clarke to the girl writhing on the table in agony.

He winced, breathing hard.

"Most of her cuts are infected and some of them are too big to treat with herbs. We have to burn it away," she looked over at Finn then who had just made it down the ladder. "I'm going to need all three of you to hold her down."

Jasper went completely white.

Clarke turned away to retrieve something long and metal from inside a metal barrel that sat in the corner. Flames were licking out of it, smoke rising from the middle and venting out of a small crack that had been opened in the Dropship door.

She turned back to Jasper, putting a hand on his shoulder. His hands were shaking as he watched Emile crying out in pain from a cut they had obviously tried to cut the infection out of.

They must have thought this to be a more humane way to get rid of it, though the look of fear on the girls face at seeing the white hot poker made him think otherwise.

"She needs you," she said.

Jasper nodded and walked over to stand at the head of the table where Emile's head was. All of the color had left her bruised face and it must have taken all the strength left in her to lift her head and look at the poker coming near her.

Jasper's heart was beating fast as he lifted a hand to her cheek with a touch as light as a feather.

"Emile," he whispered in her ear. "It's going to be okay – we're going to help you feel better."

Her head fell back on the table and she looked up at him, her chest rising and falling at a rapid pace, looking terrified.

"Jasper?" she croaked out in a strained voice.

His heart stopped.

"You remember me?"

She just stared at him wondrously as Bellamy came to hold down her legs by her ankles and Finn walked to her middle to pin down her arms.

Panic came back to her face and she tried to struggle from the boys strong grasps.

Jasper held her down by her shoulders, bending his head down to her ear to whisper soothingly.

"Don't worry Emile, it'll be over soon."

She tried to cry, but all that came out was a sharp gasping sound as Clarke walked over with the poker.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry, but I promise it'll be over before you know it," whispered Jasper, though he didn't know if he was trying to sooth her or himself.

"You've got her?" asked Clarke.

She was standing near Emile's legs where the worst of the three infected cuts was located, lifting the heat over it, though not enough for her to feel it yet.

She waited for each one of the boys to give her a nod before bringing the poker down on the cut, searing away the infection.

Emile's back arched off the table as a scream ripped through her throat, the muscles in her neck straining.

Jasper wanted to close his eyes to block out the scene before him, but forced them to stay open. He brought his head back down to hers, but instead of whispering more soothing words in her ear, he kissed the top of her head, his lips lingering there until Clarke lifted the poker back off of the cut once she was sure it was clean.

"You did it," he whispered encouragingly in her ear, kissing her temple.

Beads of sweat were rolling down Emile's face and her eyes were starting to droop closed as if she were tired. She look at at him as if he were a life raft and she was drowning.

Clarke went back to the fire to stick the poker back in to warm it up again for round two.

"Alright, we're almost done, you're doing so good," he whispered, wiping the sweat off her forehead with his sleeve.

It was burning hot in the Dropship from the fire. Not enough of the heat was escaping through the crack they had opened and every one of them was hot and sweating.

Clarke came back over and Emile tensed again, looking like she wanted to either cry or fall asleep. The look broke Jasper's heart.

"Maybe we should give her a break," he said before Clarke lowered the poker for a second time.

"No," she said. "We need to get this over with, the cuts are festering and it will just make things worse if we keep her in suspense. Hold her down."

They all tightened their grip and Emile started breathing faster and faster as the poker came down.

Another scream ripped through her as it came down on the cut on her right arm, searing the long, angry slit that ran down it longways.

Finn was struggling to hold down both of her arms and stay out of Clarke's way at the same time so as not to get burnt as well. There was a grimace on his face, all business, the boy who had been bearing his soul a moment ago to Jasper now gone.

Jasper was having trouble as well keeping her in place, surprised by the strength she had in her despite the state she was in. He was leaned over her so much that he was practically hugging her, bending his head forward towards her chest to try to block the scene from her terror struck eyes. His long hair fell in front of her vision as well, the messy strands curtaining her from the rest of the view that his head didn't cover.

The poker was lifted and her body slumped back down, to tired to kept the muscles tense any longer.

Jasper lifted his head a little to look her in the eyes.

"Almost there. Last one," he said encouragingly.

He thought he saw a ghost of a smile cross her lips, but in a second it was gone and was sure that he had imagined it.

He looked over at Clarke and saw her walk back over to the last cut that needed burned located on her stomach, and lifted her dirty gray form-fitted shirt, revealing her pale stomach.

Jasper looked away, embarrassed.

This time, he knew that he didn't imagine the small smile that came to her lips at his blush.

Clarke placed the poker over the wound, waiting to make sure that everyone had a good grip on her, then brought it down on the infection, bringing a scream from the girl once again.

Jasper started whispering soothing words into her ears without even being aware of what he was actually saying as he heard the sound of sizzling flesh over the girl's screams.

It was soon lifted off and Jasper gave a sigh of relief, taking his hands off of her shoulders and wiping his sweaty palms on his pants.

Clarke and Bellamy went to the flaming barrel in the corner right away and opened the door so that they could put it out. Finn raised his arm to his forehead and wiped away his own sweat, walking to the door as well to get some air.

It was very stuffy in there now, but Jasper refused to leave Emile's side.

The door was left opened to air it out, Bellamy standing outside in front of the canvas that was draped in front of the door as a guard to keep out any unwanted visitors.

Clarke walked back over to Emile, picking up the rag on the side of a tub of water placed by the table, dunking it in the water and started to wash the girls dirty body.

"You did such a good job," she said. "Don't worry, you're going to be alright now."

Jasper walked over to Clarke and placed a hand on her wrist, stopping her from her cleaning before she even finished washing one leg.

"Let me," he said.

It wasn't a question.

Clarke raised her eyebrows, but said nothing, giving him the rag and standing back.

"I'm going to go get her some more drinking water," she said, backing away to the door.

Jasper had the suspicion that she really wanted to leave them alone seeing as there was a water bottle sitting right by the table still half full, but was grateful that she did.

He dunked the already muddy rag into the water again, watching as the dirt turned into a brown cloud in the clear water, then bringing it back out to wash the rest of the leg Clarke had been working on.

He moved his hand up to thigh. Her pants had been stripped away, leaving her in only her underwear and shirt, but this didn't seem to bother Emile who was staring straight at Jasper as he set to work.

Jasper's eyes flickered up to hers and he noted the exhausted expression on her face and was impressed that she still managed to stay conscious through that, knowing that if it had been the other way around he would have fainted before the poker ever touched his skin.

Finished with the first leg, he moved on to the second one, starting at her ankle and working his way to her upper-thigh.

He heard her breath hitch above him and glanced quickly up to her face. Her eyes were closed and her breath was coming in short pants.

His pulse quickened and he started on her bare stomach, noting the way the muscles jumped where his knuckles accidentally touched her skin. He felt hot even though the room was starting to air out now and he quickly moved onto her arms beginning with the wrist and making his way to her shoulder, then doing the same with the other arm, silent as he worked.

Carefully, he brought the rag to her neck and made his way down to the top of her chest. Her eyes popped open then and she look him right in the eyes, lips parted.

Their gazes locked for only a second before Jasper coughed, blinking and throwing the rag back onto the barrel of water as Clarke came back into the Dropship.

She was holding another bottle of water and walked over to Emile, lifting the girl by the back of the head and holding the open bottle to her lips.

"Just small sips," she said. "You're dehydrated, so we're going to have to go slow."

Emile didn't say anything as she brought her mouth to the bottle and took one short drink then lowered her head back to the table.

"We're going to need someone to watch her around the clock," said Clarke, turning to Jasper though he thought she was just talking to herself. "We should set up shifts-"

"I can do it."

"Jasper, you can't watch her all day and all night, we're going to need people to switch out-"

"I don't want Jasper to leave me," came Emile's weak voice from behind them.

They both turned around to look at her and Jasper tried not to smile.

After a brief pause, Clarke turned back to Jasper. "Okay, you can set up a spot for yourself to sleep in here. You won't have to leave her, but don't force yourself to stay awake. We can't have you getting yourself sick, alright?"

Jasper nodded, looking over at Emile, walking over to her and taking her small, delicate hand.

She gave him a small smile before closing her eyes, allowing herself to fall into a deep sleep.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Warning: Graphic Scenes.**

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Chapter 27

Raven Pov

Raven's heart was pounding so fast she was afraid that if a Grounder was near by that they would be able to hear it. Looking over at Murphy she could see that he look as she felt: nervous, all color gone from his face and eyes snapping around at every little noise.

They had chanced calling out for Ella more than a few times, not caring who heard them if it meant finding her.

Murphy was in the lead, with James and Monty close behind him. She wanted to be up there with him, but doing so would mean having James behind her, and the thought gave her the chills.

When she found out that he was going, her anxiety doubled and she had avoided his eyes the entire trip, griping tightly to the knife that Miller had lent her, in her pocket.

Something about the boy was bothering her more than usual, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. She had been so careful to not be left alone with him since the bonfire and even back then something had been tugging at the back of her mind, though she had been unable to see his face or his expression.

Her eyes snapped back to him and she took in his height and large build, solid as a brick wall. His long blond hair that reached his shoulders was pulled back in a messy ponytail and he had his hands shoved into his pockets. She could see that by the way his pants bulged on either side of his hips that his hands were balled into fist and she had no idea what he had to be nervous about. He was the last of them who had to worry, being the tallest and the fastest of the group.

Murphy stopped and called out for Ella, again, snapping her out of her thoughts.

No answer.

Every time they called out for her a flicker of hope lit inside of her, but was never surprised when there was no answer back.

Murphy was the best tracker out of all of them and had followed the trail easily that was left behind from the night before by whomever had made it into camp.

Whoever it was obviously wasn't well trained and so far the trail had been a fast one for him to pick up and follow. Ever once in a while he would bend down to examine a snapped twig or a footprint that had been left behind in the soft dirt.

The captor hadn't taken one of the trails that they had made, but had gone straight into the middle of the woods where the trees grew close together, hiding the sun from their view.

This made it easy for Murphy to find broken branches and crushed flowers, but hard to find footprints. Whoever had been through here had clearly not thought it out very clearly or was just very inexperienced with being in the woods.

This confused Raven.

The Grounders in the woods had lived out here their whole lives and would not be so sloppy if they had wanted to take someone from camp unnoticed.

This made Raven uneasy and she hurried up to Murphy's side, walking as far away from James as she could.

"Something's not right," she whispered in his ear.

He looked sideways at her with a serious expression.

"I feel it too," he said.

Raven looked at the surrounding trees then back at him.

"The trail is too easy to following. Someone very inexperienced had to have done this and the people who have lived down here know the area well."

"You think it's a trap?"

"It has to be, because the only other explanation would be that someone from camp did it."

Murphy stopped in his tracks and turned to look fully at her, causing James and Monty to stop as well.

"That's impossible, no one from camp would do something like this," said James.

Raven looked at the ground, unable to meet his eyes.

Murphy shook his head.

"No," he said. "It couldn't have been someone from camp, that's impossible. People have given her a hard time in the past, but no one would take it this far."

A large _crack_ like a tree branch snapping sounded in the direction that the trail was leading them, followed by a strained scream that was clearly feminine.

Without another thought, they all took off in that direction.

Murphy Pov

Murphy hurdled over fallen logs and ducked under tree branches, running at full speed. He heard a grunt from behind him and turned to see Monty fall and Raven stop to help him up, but kept going.

"Ella!" he called, again.

He could now hear a gasping sob coming from up ahead and impossibly, he made himself run faster.

He could see flashes of something moving up ahead through the cracks in the leaves and branches and he ran until he came to a place where the trees opened up a bit, the sun hitting his eyes once he came out of their shady cover.

Once his eyes adjusted he froze in place, unbelieving at the sight before him.

Twenty feet above him, Ella was tied to a tree, her legs kicking out from under her, trying to find purchase on anything that could hold her up. There was a rope tightening around her neck as she slipped down a few inches, a tree branch laying at her feet below her.

After a beat, he dashed for the tree, his heart hammering even faster than before as he jumped to reach the lowest hanging branch, hoisting himself up to reach the next one.

Ella was slipping farther down all the while, gasping for breath as she tried to strain her neck upwards to get away from the rope slowly tightening around her neck.

"Hold on, Ella!" Murphy called, grabbing onto a dead branch without knowing it.

It snapped and he fell a few feet down. He caught himself on another branch before he hit the ground, but not before receiving a nasty cut on his upper thigh.

He gasped out in pain, trying to ignore the injury as well as his unhealed head wound, using all the strength he had in him to hoist himself to the next branch.

He heard a sharp intake of breath above him and snapped his head quickly up to see that Ella had slipped down even farther.

The rope was too tight around her neck now and her face was turning red from lack of air.

Her eyes were closed tightly and she was stretching her neck up as high as she could, but it did her little good.

The color was quickly leaving her face, and Murphy was shaking.

He wasn't going to make it in time.

He had to tighten every muscle to in his body to keep himself from shaking and losing his grip on the branch he held. He was almost there, just a few more feet.

The gasping stopped.

His blood turned to ice as he looked back up. Ella had slipped too far – she was now only being held up by the rope around her neck, her face white and body unmoving.

He cried out, climbing the rest of the way up so fast that he was practically flying, until he reached her.

Perching himself on a branch close to her that had been just out of her range of movement, he took out his knife and started cutting furiously at the rope around her neck. It came away with a _snap_ and her body slumped farther down the tree. He then started working at the rope around her body, the only thing keeping her from falling straight to the ground. The rope gave way and he caught at her limp form before it fell away enough to no longer be able to support her.

Hoisting her up on the branch, he held her over his shoulder, climbing back down as fast as he could, not knowing where the strength to do so had come from.

When he reached the ground, he laid her on her back, bringing his head to her mouth, listening for her breath.

Nothing.

"No," he said shaking his head. "You're not dead, it's okay Ella, you're not dead."

He was so shaken up he had no idea what he was actually saying.

With shaking hands, he started CPR on her, something he had learned in school when he was younger.

Nothing.

A string of curses fell from his mouth as he dropped his lips down to hers, plugging her nose and tilting her head up, breathing into her mouth and filling her lungs with air.

Nothing.

He kept at, alternating between giving her CPR and mouth-to-mouth, neither of them having any affect on her.

He hadn't even realized that he was crying until his tears splashed onto her pale face.

He knew it was over, but couldn't bring himself to stop, his efforts just becoming more frantic.

"You can't just leave me here!" he yelled at the only women he have ever loved.

His efforts at CPR were becoming even rougher as he start hitting her still chest with his fight.

"Come on."

Hit.

"Come on."

Hit.

"Come on!"

Hit.

With a gasping breath, Ella's back arched off the ground, her lungs filling with air and a little color coming back to her face.

His eyes widened in shock, the tears freezing in his eyes, his face soaked and red from crying.

Murphy practically tackled her then, wrapping both of his arms and legs around her and crying into her shoulder.

Ella laid there, letting him hold her, too weak to hold him back.

"I love you," he sobbed into her shoulder.

Neither one of them noticed the three teens watching them from the edge of the forest: Raven pale and sinking to the ground in relief. Monty shaking, a single tear sliding down his face. And, James, standing farther away, a satisfied smirk on his lips.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Jasper Pov

Jasper closed his eyes, reveling in the feel of the cold metal Dropship wall against his back. His head was tilted back, resting against the wall as well, his legs folded in a pretzel beneath him, breathing slowly.

The ship was starting to cool down a little, but the coldness of the wall was what finally helped him cool down enough to stop sweating.

He had brought a pillow and blanket in with him that he had gotten from the supplies that were sent down in the ship with them, and was currently sitting on it in the corner while Emile slept on the table in front of him where he could easily see her.

He wondered if she was comfortable on there. Probably not.

Jasper wanted to lay her down on his blanket, afraid that she might roll over in her sleep and fall off the table.

Maybe he was just being paranoid.

Or, maybe he wanted to hold her while she recuperated.

He looked up when he heard Emile sigh in her sleep, her head falling to the side and breath becoming uneven.

Jasper walked over to her side and saw her eyes flutter open, looking up at him and giving him a small smile.

"Do you think you can hold down a bit more water?" he asked in a quiet voice.

He had forced himself to stay awake while she slept, waiting for her to open her eyes so that he could give her more to drink like Clarke had instructed him to do.

She nodded and he grabbed the bottle of water that Clarke had left on a small stand beside her and held the back of her head to lift her enough so that she could take a drink.

Emile only took two mouthfuls of water before lifting her mouth away from the bottle and he laid her head back gently on the table and screwed the lid back on, setting it down beside her.

She had slept for over five hours – five hours that he had stayed in the Dropship with her, only getting up to move around the ship when his legs became numb.

"How do you feel?" he asked, clearly concerned.

"Better, thanks to you."

He blushed, hoping that she wouldn't notice.

"I didn't do anything."

Her voice sounded a bit stronger, the rest and water doing her some good. All of the dirt and dust had been washed from her body, her cuts cleaned and bandaged and he noticed some color returning to her face, though she was still unable to eat anything solid yet and had no idea when the last time she had eaten was.

Emile looked up at him with admiration as though he were the one who risked his life, being lowered down the side of a cliff to bring her back up to safety, or burnt the infections from her wounds before they spread up her leg, arm and torso.

"You stayed," she said simply, her voice still a bit weak. "You actually care whether or not I get better. The others have been helping me, yeah, but you actually care, Jasper. All they want is information, and are probably waiting for me to stay awake for more than ten minute only so that they can get what they want out of me."

His heart nearly melted when he heard his name flow off her lips like honey, though the feeling was mixed with sadness at her words.

He looked down at the brave girl below him, seeing how strong she was trying to be, despite what she had been through.

Even with her hair all messy and tangled and her face and body covered in cuts and bruises, she was still the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen in his life.

It wasn't until he saw the blood rush to her face that he realized that he had said as much out loud, embarrassment flooding over him.

She reached for his hand which he gladly gave her and squeezed, being careful not to hurt her.

"My back hurts," she said with a wince. "Can I lay with you? It looks more comfortable over there."

His back stiffened, wondering if she had read his thoughts.

She took this as a sign that he didn't her to.

"It's okay, I don't have to if you don't want-"

"No!" he said a bit more desperate than he had meant to. He tried to regain his composure, but figured that he had lost his pride hours age, so there was really nothing more to lose. "No, you can come over and lay with me if you want."

She smiled as he bent down, reaching one hand under her back and one under her knees, lifting her small frame easily and carried her over to his little spot on the Dropship floor.

He set her down on his blanket, propping her head on his pillow and sat down beside her with his back against the wall.

"Can you tell me a story, Jasper?" she asked in a tired voice, rolling on her side to look at him.

His eyebrows rose at the request.

"I think my storytelling skills are a little below sub-par," he said with a laugh, scratching his head.

"Please?" said Emile, squeezing his hand, her eyes wide and hopeful.

He nodded, unable to deny her.

"What kind of story?"

"Something happy," said Emile, snuggling into the blanket, one leg over it and one under, clutching it to her chest and closing her eyes.

He smiled at how cute she looked.

"Okay."

He racked his brain for a story to tell her, his mind going back to one his mother use to tell him when he was a little kid, after his father had been floated.

He had been scared and frightened and followed his mother around everywhere she went, afraid that if he let her out of his sight, she would disappear as well.

"Ready?" said Jasper, stretching his legs out a bit so that they arched over both of hers, he feet resting flat behind them.

She smiled and nodded, her eyes still closed and a slow yawn escaping her mouth.

He began the story about a young boy (which he changed to girl) who had to climb a ladder to the moon every night and sweep away the stars from its surface that made up the sun, sweeping them into outer space so that moon could come out behind them, darkening the sky to night.

He had loved that story as a kid. Most of the stories he had heard when he was little took place in space, but in that one, after the boy had finished sweeping the stars off the moon, he climbed the ladder back down to Earth to his house so that he could go to bed.

He had dreamed about seeing Earth as a kid.

The reality wasn't as magical as his sever year old self had imagined.

But, he wasn't complaining.

How could he complain when he was sitting in the Dropship on Earth, alone with Emile, who after the story was over he realized was now sound asleep.

He smiled and watched her stomach rise and fall with slow, peaceful breaths. She seemed so helpless and so vulnerable in sleep and he knew that she was trying to be brave even though he was sure she was terrified of her time spent on Earth.

He promised himself right then that he was going to make that change as soon as possible.

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 **A/N: I just love innocent, loving Jasper.**

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 **Disclaimer: The story that Jasper told to Emile was from a Disney short film that I am unable to remember the name of.**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Did any of you guys experience any difficulty with the website lately? I couldn't access my profile since yesterday, but thankfully it started working again and I'm sure the next chapter will make it to you no problem. :)**

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Chapter 29

Ella Pov

Ella woke up in a panic, struggling in someones grasp as she gasped for air.

She had been dreaming that she was being strangled to death, and once she opened her eyes, the feeling didn't stop. She felt like she was being choke – her throat felt sore and swollen and she was unable to catch her breath as if it were closing.

The arms holding her gripped her tighter, their voice loud and desperate, trying to get her to calm down.

"Ella! Ella, it's okay! I've got you."

Murphy.

She stopped struggling and he wrapped his arms around her arms and waist, pinning them down to her side, his head falling to rest on her shoulder.

"Just breath," he whispered.

She took a few calming breaths, deep and slow, letting the air fill her lungs until her heart stopped beating furiously in her chest.

Her neck and throat hurt and her entire body felt weak. She could hardly remember anything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, the last solid memory she had being her and Murphy alone sitting under a tree in camp.

Ella swallowed a lump in her throat, this causing her even more pain, feeling like she was trying to swallow a baseball.

Her senses were coming back enough for her to realize that Murphy was shaking, his arms were still wrapped tightly around her, the muscles in them tight though she could tell that he was trying not to crush her in his strong embrace.

Ella opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out, only a ruff, scratching feeling in her throat and the sensation that the baseball was trying to come back up. It made her cough harshly several times, this setting her throat on fire.

Murphy jumped at the sound, then quickly let her go to lean over the side of the bed and pick up a water bottle.

That was when she realized that she was in her tent, wrapped in two blankets, and with Murphy no longer holding her up, falling back onto two pillows.

She didn't even try to stop herself from falling, much to weak to do anything but lie back on the soft pillows.

She wonder for a moment where the extra pillow and blanket had come from, but it didn't take her long to recognize the pale blue of the blanket and it wasn't hard to come to the conclusion that the pillow was part of its matching set.

They were Murphy's, he must have brought them over for her.

"Sorry," he said quickly in a shaky voice when he noticed that she was unable to hold herself up. "Here."

He held the bottle to her mouth and she took a drink, the liquid making her feel sick after a while even though it tasted so good after being deprived of it for so long.

"You're dehydrated, so it's going to take you a while to get use to it. You're going to have to start slow."

His voice was still shaking and he shoveled a hand through his air, making the strands stick up in every direction.

She wanted to laugh at how insane he looked, though she knew that if she did it wouldn't do anything to help the pain in her throat, which was just starting to go down after soothing it with the cold water.

Ella tried to reach out her hand to his arm to reassure him, but she frowned when she was unable to lift it herself.

Murphy looked like he wanted to cry when he saw her struggle to lift something as simple as a hand and that look scared her more then whatever was happening to her. She had never seen Murphy this upset about anything. Not even when he had lost both of his parents.

What was happening?

Why couldn't she remember anything?

She looked at him questioningly and saw him try to regain his composure, though his voice was still a bit unsteady when he spoke.

"You don't remember anything?"

She shook her head, taking a lot of effort to do so.

He nodded. "Maybe you should rest, you've been through a lot and I don't think that you should be excited right now.

Ella looked up at him pleadingly, his words only making her want to know all the more.

He huffed. "We found you in the middle of the woods. You were tied to a tree," his voice broke here. "Your head was bent down and your skin had lost all its color... I though you were dead."

He stopped then and dropped his head to her stomach, and she could feel his pain. He was so shaken up by this and it wasn't until then that she realized how much she really meant to him – how even the memory of almost losing her was too much for him to bare.

"Shh," she soothed, using all the strength she had in her body to lift her hand enough to run it through his dark brown hair.

He looked up at her at the light touch.

"Did you see who did this to you?"

His eyes took on a dangerous look that almost frightened her.

She shook her head and he laid his back on her stomach.

"I'll find him. Their going to get what's coming to them."

Murphy had gotten angry many times in his life and Ella was always able to sooth him enough before he did something stupid and reckless. But, something in his voice told her that this wasn't one of those times. She didn't think that if Murphy did end up finding who had done what he said they did to her that she could stop him from doing something reckless – or fatal.

Just then, Clarke came in looking for all the world like she was going to fall over from exhaustion.

Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, something that she not often wore, with almost all of it falling out. Her cloths were covered in dirt and blood and something black that looked to her like soot. There were dark circles under her eyes and they were starting to droop closed as she came over to stand beside her and Murphy.

Murphy straightened up as soon as she came in, his face becoming an expressionless mask the way it always did when he didn't want to show emotion.

"You look terrible," he said.

The corners of her mouth lifted in a reluctant smile.

"Thanks," she said, some life coming back to her. "I've been up for something like thirty-six hours, going back and forth between Emile and Ella. I'm exhausted."

She sighed the last part, rubbing her face.

"Anyway, I'm sure my health is the least of your worries right now. How is Ella doing."

Ella opened her mouth to say that she wasn't invisible, but was overcome by a fit of coughs.

Clarke quickly moved to roll her onto her side, this easing the pain in her chest a bit.

"Don't try to talk Ella, the rope caused your throat to swell and it's going to take a while for it to heal completely," said Clarke in her soothing doctor voice.

Flashes of waking up surrounded by trees and crying out as a rope tightened around her neck caused Ella to go into a panic, her breath coming in shallow gasps.

"Ella?" said Murphy in concern.

"Ella, look at my hand," said Clarke, all business now as she held up her hand, palm facing outward. "Take deep breaths and just look at my hand; focus on the lines and the way my finger prints swirl around on my fingertips. That's it."

Ella's breath started to slow, the panicked feeling leaving her chest as the flashes stopped.

"Lack of air can mess with your brain. You'll get your memories back slowly, but it's going to take some time and when they do, just focus on an object and take deep breaths until you calm down if you have another panic attack. Can you do that for me?"

Ella nodded, feeling like she was being treated like a small child, but not having the energy to care at the moment.

Clarke reached out with the back of her hand and touched her forehead, taking her temperature.

"No fever, that's good; you were out there for a long time before they found you without any food or water in the blistering sun. But, with some rest and a bit of water every hour, you'll get your strength back. I've made you some herbal tea to help with the swelling in your throat and you're going to have to drink that once ever two hours. Murphy, can you make sure she does that."

He nodded, one sharp nod of his head and she gave them both a tired smile.

"Well then, try to get some rest, both of you. I'll be back to check on you in the morning, Ella."

Ella gave her a small smile before she ducked out of the tent, back to the Dropship no doubt.

Murphy laid down on the bed beside her on his side and reached out a hand to gently caress her face.

"My beautiful Ella," he whispered. "What would I do without you?"

She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch as tears came to her eyes, wishing she could tell the boy beside her how much she loved and needed him.

She was sure he already knew.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Raven Pov

Once the gates were open upon their return, the first thing that Raven saw was Miller standing in the entryway with a look of utter shock on his face. It was clear to her then that he had obviously thought that they weren't going to find anything and that what they had set out to do was a complete waste of time.

He quickly jumped aside when they started to all file in, unable to look at Murphy or the unconscious girl in his arms, but glued his eyes firmly to the ground.

Raven bore her eyes into him anyway, trying to light the boy on fire.

She hung back while Murphy carried Ella into her tent. Monty walked over to the tent that he and Raven worked in, getting stopped my Bellamy along the way who she realized had finally come out of the Dropship looking like he was about to fall over.

The door to the ship was now down and she could see Clarke running out of it with another kid from camp who a notified her of Ella's state, and heading right for her tent.

The gates were now being closed and Raven stood to watch them, the boy manning them taking his post again and Miller leaning against the wall, still not looking her in the eye.

"You said you didn't see anything," she whispered harshly at him once they closed.

"I didn't," he said to the ground through gritted teeth, though the guilt on his face took the bite out of it.

"Then you must be blind-"

"It was dark out," his eyes flashed up to hers with a dangerous look in them. "I don't take my job lightly, whoever did this couldn't have used any lighting or else I would have seen them."

Raven shook her head, not ready to let this go, yet.

"That's impossible, no one, not even a Grounder could make it though the woods in the pitch dark."

"They could if they lit a torch once they got a little ways from camp when they could no long be seen."

Raven contemplated this for a bit, but didn't want to give in before she took all her angry out on him.

"We need to search the woods for tracks. We stopped following the trail when we found Ella, but if we can pick it back up again, we could try to follow them back to wherever they came from. Murphy was the one who tracked him though, and there's no way he's going to leave Ella's side any time soon.

Miller straightened up, some of his pride returning.

"We don't need Murphy, I can track him no problem."

She rolled her eyes. "I thought you had to stay here."

"Bellamy's done helping Clarke now, and if he's going to let anyone lead this, it'll be me."

"That's right," came Bellamy's deep, commanding voice and Raven looked over her shoulder to see Bellamy's walking towards them with a purposeful stride.

"I was just coming to tell you that I need another party to go back out and search the woods. Take Raven and James with you, Murphy's going to stay here with Ella and I've got Monty working on bullets."

"Where's Jasper? Why can't he come with us?" asked Raven.

Bellamy looked behind himself at the Dropship then back at them.

"He's with Emile. The girl goes insane whenever he leaves her side," he sounded tired when he said this.

Raven raised one eyebrow. "Really?"

Bellamy shrugged, the corner of his mouth lifting as though this had surprised him as well.

"Have you gotten anything out of her, yet?"

"No, she can hardly keep her eyes open five minutes and Clarke said that we have to let her rest before questioning her."

There was a look in his eyes that said he didn't like taking orders from other people.

"What about Finn?" she asked with a sigh.

Both boy's eyes narrowed at her. She knew that they could both tell that she was desperate for someone else to join them.

"What's the matter, afraid to be all alone in the deep dark woods with only me and James?" smirked Miller.

 _You, I don't have a problem with,_ she wanted to say.

"Nope, I'm ready when you are," she said with fake chearfulness, grinding her teeth together.

Miller sighed and stretched his back, looking in his pockets to make sure that his knife was still there.

"Alright," huffed Miller, using both hands to push himself off the wall. "I'm ready."

"James!" called Bellamy across camp.

James immediately ran to their side.

"Yes sir?" he said breathlessly.

 _Suck up._

"You're going back out to search the woods for whoever is responsible for messing with my camp.

James noticeably tensed and Raven decided that he was definitely acting weird, even for James.

Suddenly, Harper seemed to materialize from no where as she always seemed to do, walking a little bit in front of James, hiding half of him from view.

"Going back out?" she asked sweetly.

Miller and Bellamy exchanged a look that only past between two guys.

"Well, three is hardly enough, now is it? You know, I could always tag along. I don't have much experience, but you can use all the help you can get."

Bellamy sighed, shaking his head and bringing one hand up to rub at his tired eyes.

"Take her with you," he said.

Miller started to refuse, but Bellamy shot him a look that told him that he really wasn't in the mood to argue at the moment.

"Alright, fine, you'll need a knife," said Miller with some resentment.

"I have an extra one that she can use," said James.

"You have an extra weapon?" asked Bellamy, some life coming back to his voice. "Where did you get it?"

James shrugged. "Made it."

"Fine, let her use it, just go, okay?" Huffed Bellamy, apparently no longer wanting to deal with them anymore.

James scooped the knife out of his pocket and handed it to Harper. The girl smirked and clutched it tightly in her hand.

"Try to keep up," said Miller, nodding to the boy manning the gates for him to open them.

Harper rolled her eyes. "Please, I've been out with you guys plenty of times before when we first came down here."

"Yeah, before we kicked you out of our group, because you sucked at keeping your mouth shut for more than two seconds."

"Are you guys seriously going to fight this entire trip? I need to know ahead of time so that I can shoot myself in the head," said Raven sarcastically.

They started down the path, the line a little sloppier then when Bellamy was leading them. It was really only a matter of time before they all started ripping each others heads off.

James was quiet ever since he hand handed Harper that knife and she chanced a quickly glance his way to see that his back was as stiff as a board. He kept looking over at Harper with a desperate expression on his face when he thought no one was looking as if he were trying to get her attention.

"James doesn't think I talk too much, do you James?" said Harper in her fake sweet voice that was really staring to tick Raven off.

She didn't look at him when she said this and when she spoke his name, it was with a weird familiarity.

He shook his head, but stayed quiet.

Raven narrowed her eyes. "I wasn't aware you two knew each other."

 _Figures._

She couldn't think of any two people who deserved each others company more.

Harper shot Raven an odd look. "What do you care?"

"Just making conversation," said Raven holding up both her hands in mock defense.

"Whatever," said Harper with a roll of the eyes, turning her eyes back to the forest in front of her.

Raven was really starting to get a weird feeling now and could only pin it to the fact that they were probably both on edge by the fact that someone had been taken out of camp without anyone noticing. What else could possibly be the explanation?

"Everyone, quiet," snapped Miller.

The two girls glared at each other and walked as far from one another as the path would let them.

They had walked around to the back of the camp wall like before, where Raven pointed out that the trail started and was now very easy to track with the foot prints from the party that had been sent out that morning in search of Ella.

They walked for hours in an uncomfortable silence.

Raven didn't remember the trip taking this long when it had been Murphy leading them even though they should have been moving much faster now that the trail was a clear one for them to follow.

Despite all this, Raven liked being out in the woods, where danger could befall them at any moment, having to weave her way through branches and over fallen trees. She hated being cooped up in a tent working and hardly ever getting to see the sun.

This was exciting.

Miller stopped suddenly, holding up a fist for them to stop as well.

"What is it?" whispered Raven.

"The trail breaks off into two different ones right here," said Miller after a pause.

Raven walked up to stand beside him. He was right, they both went in two different directions.

"Which way did you go before?"

"I'm not sure. We heard a loud noise in the distance and followed that. I think it might have been right," she said, closing her eyes and rubbing them, trying to remember.

"You don't remember?" he accused.

Raven glared at him. "It was a tough situation."

He sighed. "Fine, we'll split up into two groups. Raven you're with me, because I'm pretty sure that neither of us can handle Harper having to tag along," he added under his breath.

"Heard that," said Harper behind them.

Raven smirked.

"Alright, we'll meet right back at this spot in two hours. Do you two have enough food?"

Harper looked over at James who nodded, being the only one of the two with a backpack.

"Good."

Miller unraveled the piece of dark orange scrap fabric from around his wrist that he used as a sweatband and tied it to a branch near where the two paths met to mark where they were to meet just in case one of the groups passed the spot by accident.

Miller nodded at James and the two groups departed: Raven and Miller turning right and James and Harper going left.

Once the two were far enough, Harper slipped her hand in James's and the boy smirked down at her, pulling her in for a passionate kiss.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Raven Pov

They had been walking for hours and the sun was just beginning to set. Raven looked up and saw the colors of the sunset breaking through the tree branches. She was reluctant to leave, but it wouldn't do to be stuck out here over the border at night.

"If we don't turn back know, we're going to be stuck out here in the dark," said Raven quietly, not wanting to disturb the silence, even so, making Miller jump at the sudden noise.

They had barely said more than two words to each other since they had started off on their own. Neither of them were big talkers and they were okay with that. It was a companionable silence.

Miller shrugged. "Fine by me."  
"Really?"

She had expected more of a fight on this.

They had been following the trail that seemed to go on and on forever, all day and she didn't think Miller would give up on finding out where it lead to so easily. He could be a very stubborn person when it came to competing a task.

Miller stopped and looked at her. "Who knows how much longer we'll be walking if we keep going. Obviously, whoever did this planned it out better than we thought. Maybe the trail was so easy to follow because it wouldn't have made a difference whether we followed it or not. This could go on for miles."

Raven shook her head, confused. "I just thought that you would care a bit more about something as big as this that happened in camp, oh high and mighty second," she said sarcastically, turning her back to him and starting down the path back to camp.

"I do," he said, running to catch up with her. "I just don't think that this is worth it, is all."

Now it was Raven who stopped, turning to look at him.

"What is up with you?"

Something flashed behind his eyes that he quickly and carefully covered, his mask of nonchanlace coming back to his features.

"I think the radiation is messing with your head."

"Oh really? Why? Because, I actually care about the safety of others in camp?"she spat.

He took a threatening step towards her.

"You think I don't care? I'm the one who should be running the camp, not Bellamy. He can't make hard decisions if it doesn't please _everyone_ in camp. He can't keep order."

Raven took a step away from him, feeling a surge of fear go through her body at his intense gaze and knew she had pushed a button without even realizing it.

"What are you talking about?" she whispered, afraid that if she spoke in a regular voice that it would crack.

"I'm talking about they way things are run in camp. Every time Bellamy needs someone to take over the hunt for him, like when he had to stay behind to help supervise the building of the wall, the first person he turned to was Murphy while I stayed behind and got my hands dirty. _I'm_ suppose to be his second and still Bellamy turns to Murphy first for everything. The only reason that he isn't out here leading this right now is because he's stuck back at camp with Ella who got exactly what was coming to her."

Raven saw red.

"Accuse me?" she said through gritted teeth, nostrils flaring, all fear leaving her.

Miller took another step in her direction, his expression changing to one of extreme calmness, which frightened her even more than when he looked like he had wanted to rip her head off.

"It's really too bad that she hadn't died up there. Murphy would have been so overcome by grief, who knows what he would have done. Whatever it was, from killing himself to throwing one of his prize winning tantrums and getting himself banished from camp, he would have then been out the picture."

Raven looked at Miller as if she was just seeing the boy for the first time in her life.

"You," she said in disgust, so quietly that she wasn't sure if she had even said anything at all.

The anger flashed in his eyes again before he visibly forced it down, taking another step in her direction until she was pressed up against a tree with nowhere else to go, his body just inches from hers.

"Be very careful with what you say next, Raven, you wouldn't want to say anything that you'll regret later, now would you?" said Miller with a dark smirk.

Raven wanted to scream, but knew that they were so far from camp that no one would be able to hear her, so she tried her hardest to smother the fear she felt so that her anger was in the lead.

"Why Ella?"

Miller rolled his eyes as if this were a stupid question.

"Well, I couldn't very well go right for Murphy. People tend to get a bit more suspicious when you mess with the higher ups. I wouldn't want anyone asking questions. Besides, going for her dealt with more than one problem at a time. Killing two birds with one stone," he said proudly.

Raven closed her eyes, her breath coming a little rougher. She knew that that was as good of a confession as she was going to get.

"Ella's life really doesn't matter-"

"You're insane," she interrupted, shaking her head, afraid that the fear was starting to show through.

He smiled a humorless smile as her. "Is that so? Do you really think that I did this on my own? I'm not the only person in this. And, that's how I know that you're not going to tell anyone, because if you do and they banish me, you still won't be safe."

Raven spit in his face, and he instinctively closed his eyes, rubbing furiously at them. As soon as he did, she pushed herself off the tree and ran into the woods, trying to stay along the trail so as not to get lost, but far enough away that she thought she might lose him.

Just then, two strong arms circled her waist and she instinctively let loose a cry of surprise.

She turned her head expecting to see Miller, but instead, she was looking into the eyes of James. He smiled coolly at her when he saw the shock and horror that covered her face.

Those eyes.

Her mind flashed back to the day her and Ella had spent alone at the river, when she had thought she had seen someone watching her in the foiliage. She had been on edge about it for days, telling herself that in was a trick of her vision, but the fact that they had seemed so familiar made it hard for her to let go.

That's because it wasn't her imagination.

It was James.

Suddenly, Harper broke through the trees behind him with her usual fake, sweet smile.

"What do we have here?" said Harper, prowling towards her like a cat. "Going somewhere, Raven?"

Raven heard a chuckle from behind her and saw Miller approaching from behind them. She struggled in James's grasp, but she knew that the fight was a useless one.

"Let me go," she said through gritted teeth.

"Let her go James," said Miller with a wave of his hand and the grip around her immediately loosened.

Raven's head snapped around the nearby trees, looking for somewhere to run, but the three teens were closing in on her, blocking her escape from every direction.

"Why so eager to leave, Raven?" said Harper in her pouty voice. "We're just starting to have fun."

The two boys laughed at her comment, all of them fixing her with a piercing gaze and smirks on their lips.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Jasper Pov

It wasn't until Bellamy came into the Dropship, loud footsteps on metal, that Jasper realized he had fallen asleep. He woke up with a start causing Emile to wake as well with a soft moan.

Jasper laid a hand on her back and sat up. At some point he had ended up beside her cuddled up in the blankets.

They had talked for hours before their eyes started to droop closed and Jasper held her in his arms as she slept, trying to stay awake in case she woke up and needed something from him.

He lasted for only ten minutes after she fell asleep.

"We need to talk," said Bellamy in his deep, commanding voice, stopping in front of the pair.

Jasper stared back at him, then looked at Emile, his hand moving from her back to her shoulder protectively.

"Clarke said she needed to rest," said Jasper.

"She's had enough rest, now we talk."

He walked over to the table and sat down on the chair at the head of it, looking at the two expectantly.

Clarke came in then, fixing Bellamy with a glare that said she obviously didn't condone this little chat.

With a sigh, Jasper got to his feet and held a hand out to Emile for a second, but then changed his mind and bent down picking her up, causing a gasp to slip from the girls lips.

She smiled and looked up at him.

"I can walk, Jasper."

"Trust me, you're going to want to save your strength for this," he growled, keeping his eyes locked on Bellamy.

He sat her down in one of the chairs as Clarke took another, leaving one empty, which he starting to walk to.

"You can leave us now, Jasper," said Bellamy, looking at Emile with a stern gaze.

Emile's expression turned to one of panic as she looked from Jasper to Bellamy.

"No, I want him here, I won't talk if he's not."

Bellamy made a noise somewhere between a groan and a growl, rubbing his face and running his hands all the way up into his curly black hair in one motion.

"Fine, Jasper stay, Emile talk."

Emile just sat there, looking from Clarke to Bellamy.

"I really don't know what you guys want from me or why you're getting yourself so worked up about it."

Clarke reach over, putting a reassuring hand on hers.

"He's just stressed, he's had a long day. We just want to know how you survived the crash. We saw it blow up from miles away and went out to check it in the morning. It was in such bad shape that we couldn't even make out who had been on it, all that was left of the people on it were bones scattered here and there. What we want to know is, how can you still be alive after something like that?"

Emile took a deep breath, not looking at any of them, but down at the table.

"I wasn't on it," she said in a whisper.

Everyone's reaction was different to this: Bellamy untangled his hands from his hair, straightening up, Clarke looked utterly shocked, and Jasper's face was a mask of confusion.

"What do you mean you weren't on it?" asked Bellamy in an accusing tone.

Emile looked like she was going to cry, still not able to meet anyone's eye-line.

"But, you couldn't have been on the Dropship, the one-hundred were all accounted for when we came down here. We took everyone's names, there was no way that we could have _all_ missed you."

"I wasn't on the Dropship either," she said quietly.

Jasper could almost feel the annoyance radiating off of Bellamy at her unhelpful answers.

"Then, how?" he growled.

"I came down with Raven," she said finally.

They all stiffened at that.

"She didn't say anything about-" started Clarke.

"She didn't know," Emile interrupted. "Mrs. Griffin hid me in the back of her her ship without telling her."

It was quiet for a long time, no one saying a word.

Clarke had tensed all over at the mention of her mothers name, her face turning red, and opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but quickly closed it again.

"Why would she do that?" Bellamy finally asked.

Emile took a deep, shaky breath, closing her eyes and looking like she wanted to disappear.

"I don't know," she said.

Jasper put a hand on her arm, giving her an encouraging smile when she looked up at him.

"It's okay, just tell us," he whispered to her.

Emile took another deep breath, slowly looking at each person sitting at the table in turn.

"A few weeks ago, only days before Raven came down, I was helping Mrs. Griffin with one of her patients in the medical center. She was training me to become a doctor so that she wouldn't be so overwhelmed all the time."

She looked back down at the table then.

"By the time we had finished, it was past curfew, all of the halls were empty and most of the lights had been shut off. I made my way quietly back to my unit, trying not to get caught by the patrols. Then, I could hear voices from up the hall coming towards me, so I hid behind a wall, afraid of getting in trouble. It was so dark thatI could hardly see a thing. All I could make out were two silhouettes when they came into my line of vision. They were talking about something, but I was so scared that I wasn't paying close attention."

She stopped there, taking another shaky breath.

"Then, I heard them say something about the conservation of air," she said shaking her head. "They were talking about killing hundreds of people to make the air in the Ark last longer for the higher-up, not caring what happened to the people who's _skills_ weren't useful to them once they made it to the ground."

Clarke's face had gone completely red with fury.

"Snakes," she said through gritted teeth. "They should be the one's giving themselves up to save their people."

"That still doesn't explain why you're down here," said Bellamy, ignoring Clarke's comment.

"I didn't even realize that I had made a noise until they both turned their heads in my direction. I was about to run when one of them called out for me. I knew his voice and turned around immediately."

"Who was it?" asked Jasper, leaning in to listen as if this were the most interesting story he had ever heard.

"It was Kane and one of his guards, I don't know his name, but I always see him with the chancellor."

At that, Bellamy squirmed around in his seat, looking uncomfortable.

"He put a hand on my shoulder and stared into my eyes, then asked me what I thought I was doing out of bed that late. That's when Mrs. Griffin showed up, after leaving the medical station. She told them that had been helping her and she hadn't noticed that she had kept me past curfew. Kane had looked over at her then back to me, asking what I had been doing in one of the halls that led away from my unit. I knew he knew that I had heard everything that he had said, and the way he looked at me scared me. He told Mrs. Griffin that staying out past curfew was a crime and that I had to be held in lockup. She had fought him on that, saying that it was ridiculous that I be punished for something that she had done, but I knew that her arguments wouldn't help, being out past curfew was hardly the reason that I was being put away.

The next day, she had come to visit me in the skybox. She asked me if I was okay and I told her everything I had heard. But the news didn't seem to faze her and she had looked at me with dead eyes, telling me that she already knew, and that they were going to float me the next day before I could tell anyone else and start a panic like her husband had tried to do.

We had become so close after working with each other for so long and I had started to think of her as a second mother. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would do everything she could to save me from ending up like him."

Clarke was not looking at Emile as she spoke, but straight ahead, an unreadable expression on her face.

"But, they can't do that. We're all held until we're eighteen, there's no floating anyone who's underage," said Jasper.

"They can if the person knows too much and they need to find a way to rid themselves of the problem."

Jasper was shaking with rage at the thought of them breaking their own laws just to kill this girl beside him who had been scared and alone in the empty section of the Ark where all of the other prisoners had just been evacuated.

"She then told me about the ship that Raven was repairing and said that there was a spot in the back that she would keep empty for me. She couldn't tell Raven about this, because if for some reason the plan didn't work, Raven would be locked up as well, not only for going down to earth unauthorized, but for transporting a prisoner."

"How did she do it?" asked Bellamy.

Emile shrugged. "Stole the keys in the middle of the night and got me out. It wasn't easy dodging the patrol, but we made it to the ship without getting caught and I hid inside until hours later when Raven arrived."

There was pain in her eyes as she spoke and Jasper could only imagine how difficult and scary the experience had been for her, all because she had been in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"But, Raven made it safely down, and we brought her back to camp. Why weren't you with her?" asked Bellamy.

"We both survived, yes, but it was a rough landing. Not being strapped in well, I fared a bit worse than she did. I was knocked out and when I came to in a puddle of my own blood and Raven nowhere to be seen, I panicked and pulled myself out of the the ship. I was badly injured as you all saw, but somehow I forced myself to walk. I called out for Raven, but no one answered. I had to sleep on the ground without a fire at night and once I saw the Exodus ship land, I followed that. I made it there in the morning easily once I had the smoke to follow. I hadn't eaten or drank anything and I had lost a lot of blood. The trees were starting to spin and I could hear voices calling me. When I got to the wreck, I heard Mrs. Griffins voice in the direction of the cliff, so I followed it. My mind told me that she was down there, and so I started climb down."

"You climbed down without a rope?" said Bellamy incredulously.

"I think she was a little worse for wear Bell," said Jasper, coming to her defense.

Emile gave him a small smile before continuing.

"That's where my memory starts to go blurry. I remember holding onto the side of the cliff, not afraid of falling, but forgetting the reason why I had come down in the first place."

"When I found you, your shirt was ripped at the bottom, tied around a tree growing out of the side of the cliff."

She shook her head. "I don't even remember doing that. I'm glad I did though, or I'm sure that I wouldn't be here right now."

Jasper shivered at what she was suggesting, the thought too horrible a one to bare.

Bellamy nodded, staring off into the distance, then pushed his chair back and got up from the table, turning to Emile.

"I think that's enough. Thank you," he added as an afterthought, then turned to Jasper. "Until we can make sleeping arrangements for her, Emile will share your tent tonight."

Jasper nodded, eyes wide.

"Sure, whatever you say boss," he said quickly.

Bellamy nodded again, before leaving the ship.

"Come get me if you need anything," Clarke said to Emile, and followed him out.

"That wasn't so bad, was it," said Jasper sarcastically.

Emile burst out laughing at the comment, not knowing exactly why it had caught her so funny, but turned to give him a smile for trying to make her feel better.

"I'm tired. Want to go?" she asked him once she stifled her laughter.

Jasper's heart started pounding furiously as he nodded.

"I'll get the blankets."


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Murphy Pov

Murphy's anxiety was starting to come down a bit as he held Ella. He was sitting up in her bed with Ella resting the back of her head on his chest, laying on her back in between both his legs, one led straight out in front of her and the other slightly bent. Her white tank-top had ridden up at the bottom and he was currently drawing light circles on her stomach, smiling when he saw goosebumps appear on her pale skin.

Ella was wearing her tight black shorts that she always wore under her cloths and had taken off her shoes and socks leaving her barefoot.

It was starting to get late, and all day he had kept to his word, giving Ella water and herbal tea at the times Clarke had given him. The swelling in Ella's throat had gone down enough that she could now talk, but only in a whisper, her voice still not strong enough to talk in her regular voice, yet.

Murphy started drawing bigger circles on her stomach, reaching her side and Ella smiled and squirmed around from the touch.

"That tickles," she whispered.

"What, you mean this?" he said, pinching her side lightly and making her laugh.

"Murphy, stop, it hurts to laugh," she said, trying to move away from the touch.

He stopped, smiling, but didn't make a move to pull her shirt back down.

She rolled over onto her side, wrapping her arms around his waist in the small space between his back and the tent and sighed happily.

It was going to take a while to get his nerves back down after what he had seen, but holding her helped. He tried to relax, now able to feel her chest rising up and down in time with his rising stomach and hated that he was starting to feel a slight tingle as the feel of her chest through the line layer of their cloths took a small affect on him.

"Murphy?" mumbled Ella below him.

"Yes?"

"How many girls have you been with?"

He stiffened at that, taken completely unawares.

He really didn't know how to answer that question. He knew she wasn't talking about how many girlfriends he had, had.

"I know you were with Harper, she rubbed it in my face every chance she got."

Even though she whispered it, he could still hear the hurt in her voice and thought that his _number_ was really the last thing that she needed to hear right now.

"A few," he said lamely.

Ella turned onto her stomach and used her hands to lift herself back onto her haunches. She bit her lip lightly the way he had seen her do so many times before, when she was either thinking or anxious, looking him in the eyes.

"How many is a few? More or less the a dozen?"

Murphy shook his head feeling more than a little uncomfortable.

"I don't know, I don't keep track."

She nodded, looking down at the bed, her expression unreadable.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked carefully.

She shrugged, keeping her eyes firmly on the bed, a slight blush coming to her cheeks.

The corner on his mouth started to twitch into a smile and he reached out to grab her by the front of the shirt and pull her into a tight hug, reaching his head in the crook of her neck, his hot breath ghosting over the sensitive skin there.

He could feel that the muscles in her body were tensed as he held her and his eyebrows drew together.

"What's wrong?" he asked in concern pulling just far enough away so that he could look at her without letting her go.

"You and Harper didn't wait very long," she said to his chest, after taking a deep breath, he could feel her starting to shake.

His eyes were still trained on hers.

"No, we didn't," he said, trying to read her expression.

Her eyes closed at that and the shaking didn't stop, he could tell that she was working herself up over something and thought that he could guess what it was.

"You know that I would never push you to do anything that you're not ready for, right?" he asked, lifting her chin so that she was looking into his eyes to see the honesty in them. "I love you, and I'm willing to wait as long as you need me too."

She sighed softly, a small smile coming to her face at the gentle reassurance.

"I just don't want you to get... board."

"Board?" he said with both confusion and humor.

"Yeah, one of the girls in my class on the Ark told me that the reason why her boyfriend left her was because she wouldn't sleep with him, and I know that you said you would wait, but I'm afraid that just being with me isn't going to be enough for you," Ella rambled, looking anywhere around the room, but at his face.

Murphy tried not to smile at her honest confession. He loved how innocent and pure she was – had loved that about her his entire life. The last thing that he would ever do was try to take that away from her when she clearly wasn't ready.

This time, he cupped her face in his hands and tilted his forehead to hers, breathing slowly.

"Just getting to hold you is more than enough for me."

Ella puckered her lips like she had tasted something sour, her eyebrows coming together.

"So, you _don't_ want to be with me?"

He couldn't stop himself from laughing at that.

"Ah, Ella, I can't win with you, can I?" he said, their foreheads still connected.

She smiled, pulling back a bit, eyes wide and waiting for his answer.

He sighed. "Of course I want to, but the last thing on Earth I'm going to do is pressure you into doing anything you don't want to do."

Ella leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips then scooted back down to lay her head on his stomach.

Murphy shook his head, smiling and started running his fingers through her silver hair. It was so long that he couldn't even reach halfway down until he had to stop and bring his hand back up. She had never cut it before, but let it grow as long as she could. Needless to say, she was very attached to it as if it were a security blanket.

Ella was laying on her side and started to play with the hem of the inside of his jeans, seemingly unaware of the affect this had on him.

He thought again when he saw the wicked smile on her face, and grabbed a hold of her wrist, stopping her actions.

"You need to decide what you want here Rossetti, because you're playing with fire," he growled.

She giggled and pulled her hand out of his grasp.

"I'm just curious," she said innocently.

"Of what?"

"I don't know," she said, looking up at the ceiling. "Everything."

"Wow, I'm surprised that the school's health class failed you so greatly. I thought that at least your mother would've given you the talk-"

"Not about that," she said, her face flaming.

She rolled onto her stomach, resting her head on her arms and looking up at him.

"It's just, I know you know that I've never... done that with anyone before. It's scary to think about," she laughed, trying to make a joke out of it. "Raven said that it hurts the first time."

He frowned at that. "It doesn't have to. We would take it as slow as you needed."

Ella looked off in the distance, lost in thought.

Murphy smiled and rustled her hair. "But, that day is not coming soon. You're not prepared for it, it's much too soon, so you don't having to worry about it."

"But, now, all I'll do is worry about."

Murphy laughed and collapsed back on the bed.

"Can't win," he smiled.


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: Mildly Graphic.**

* * *

Chapter 34

Raven Pov

"What are we suppose to do with her?"

"Kill her."

"We can't kill her, they'd know it was us!"

"Not if we gave them a good story."

"It's going to have to be a pretty good story."

"Nice going Miller, you really got us into it."

"All you had to do was carry her out into the woods, not announce to her best friend that we tried to kill her-"

"We didn't try to kill her."

"Okay, so, not really, but she could have died out there and we were all braced for it in case that happened. Then, Miller had to go and open his big mouth-"

"I said I was sorry!"

Raven took a deep breath, trying to slow her pounding heart. She had had to listen to them argue for what felt like days, her hands tied behind her back around a tree trunk. She sat on the ground at the bottom of it, her legs crossed and head down.

It was starting to get dark. The sunset had faded awhile ago leaving the sky a dark shade of blue, only light enough to be able to make out shapes and faded colors, but unable to see detail.

The three teens had walked off a few feet away from her, talking in the woods where they could still keep an eye on her through the trees.

None of them had torches or any other means of light for when it got completely dark out and she had no clue how long they where going to stay out here.

She hoped forever.

Raven knew that as soon as they came to a consensus, it would be some way to prevent her from being able to tell the others back at camp what she had heard.

And, now, they were debated death as being their best option, saying that it was really the only way to make sure that they were truly safe from her telling the others.

Raven had been pulling at the ropes behind her back since they had walked away from her; her position, the dark and the fact that they were a good ways away from her gave her cover to try to pull as hard as she could without being seen. But, the ropes were too tight. She could feel them cutting off the circulation in her wrists.

Raven told herself over and over to keep a straight head – to find a way out of this. But, her panic was starting to overwhelm her, clouding her brain and making it hard to concentrate.

They couldn't talk forever.

"What's the difference? We were going to kill Ella," Raven heard them saying.

"That was different. We were just going to leave her out there until she either starved, burned or died of dehydration. What you're talking about is killing her right where she sits."

"Then, don't watch."

"Oh, okay. And, who exactly is going to do it then, huh?"

Silence.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Neither one of you morons has the stomach for it, admit it."

"Okay, I think we've had more than enough of your input for today, thanks."

Raven twisted her wrists, trying her hardest not to cry out when they dug into her flesh. She could feel blood dripping down her fingers, and the pain from it shot up her entire arm.

Her breath was coming in pants now as she doubled her efforts, doing her best to block out the pain.

She could feel it loosening.

When she had first gotten herself into this situation, she had thought that it was awfully convenient that they had packed a rope in their backpack, knowing that the path they had made wouldn't be leading them to a cliff or any other rough terrain where they might need to use it.

It didn't take her long to figure out that the path that they were following had been made by them, purposely going on for much too long a time for anyone to follow to the end before dark, and making another one in the opposite direction as well to confuse the others.

Apparently, they had no problem staying out past sundown and figured that they had been working on creating the trail for some time- sneaking out after it was dark, which wouldn't be hard seeing as Miller took most of the night shifts.

Raven hadn't had much experience being out here at night, but when she had, there was always some form a light illuminating her way. It wasn't necessarily more dangerous out in the woods at night, but they were over the boarder, reaching into Grounder territory, and with the way they were all going on, it wouldn't take long for one of them to hear the commotion and come inspect.

"Miller can do it, he was the one who suggested this whole thing in the first place with his stupid man pride-"

"Why don't you just have your boyfriend do it, I heard he loves beating up on girls."

"Or how about I just kill you, then the girl and we won't have to listen to you whine anymore."

"Boys! Enough! Killing each other is hardly going to solve anything for the soul reason that I'm not going to be the one to kill her, so that would mean leaving her and risking her escaping."

"What would we care then, we'd be dead."

"Would everyone just stop talking for two seconds, I need to think."

Silence.

Raven shifted positions slowly, so as not to draw any attention to herself, getting onto her knees and pulling forward with all her strength, and felt the ropes loosen even more.

She couldn't help the small gasping, strained cry that left her lips when she pulled, feeling like her swollen wrists were being slowly cut in half, closing her eyes, when the pain made her vision go black.

Raven breathed heavily, collapsing back against the tree. That was when she realized that no one had said a word in a while. A moment of silence after so long of none-stop arguing.

She looked up in the direction when she had seen them moments before, but the woods were so dark now and the shadows cast by the trees made it impossible for her to see more than two feet in front of her.

She held her breath, suddenly feeling very over exposed, her heart pounding in her chest as she snapped her head from left to right, now on full alert.

She heard a sharp scream and James bursting through the trees, running towards her at full speed, a determined expression on his face, before collapsing onto the ground at her feet, blood running from a large wound on his head.

Raven bit her tongue to prevent herself from screaming.

 _Grounders,_ she thought.

She snapped her head around looking for Miller and Harper, and thought that she could see the form of a body laying in the distance, unable to tell of it was male or female.

A rustling sound to her left grew louder and louder until a small form jump out from the foliage, running in her direction and dropping on his knees beside her.

Monty.

* * *

 **A/N: I wanted the dialog in this chapter to be a bit confusing between Harper, Miller and James, and that's why I didn't put who the speaker was at the end of their sentences. I hope that wasn't too annoying for you Haha.**


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: Mildly Graphic.**

* * *

Chapter 35

Finn Pov

"Bell!" shouted Finn over the roaring laughter coming from the teenagers surrounding him.

Bellamy turned around at the shout, looking around until he spotted Finn just barely lit by the light of the fire. After a few accuse me's to the people he had been talking to, he pushed through them to meet a very anxious looking Finn.

"What?" demanded Bellamy, like always, bracing himself for the worst possible news.

"They haven't come back yet."

"Who?" he asked confused.

Finn snapped his head from the gate then back to Bellamy, licking his lips in frustration.

"The team you sent out to go follow the trail to find the person who broke into camp," he whispered, his frustration mounting more and more by the second.

Bellamy waved that away. "Miller's with them, they'll be back any second."

There was a look in Bellamy's eyes when he said that, that was hard for Finn to read, but he was much too agitated to wonder about what it had meant.

"I'm telling you, something's wrong, I can feel it, we have to go look for them."

Bellamy sighed. "I can't keep sending more and more guys out there, it's too dangerous."

"So, you'll risk losing the lives of the people already out there instead? What if their in trouble? What if they did find who broke into camp and something happened to them? I'm telling you, we have to go look for them," Finn rushed out in exasperation.

"Finn-"

"Please, Bellamy. Raven's out there," he said with forced calm.

He knew he was pleading, but didn't care. He wasn't going to leave Raven out there all night in the Grounder infested woods.

"Fine, I was bored talking to those guys, anyway," said Bellamy after a while, turning his back and walking to one of the rows of tents.

Shocked, Finn stood there for a while before running to catch up with Bellamy.

"You're coming?"

Bellamy never came unless it was something he thought was a necessity and needed his supervision. And, the fact that he had given in so easily was a complete shock for Finn.

"I told you - I'm bored."

Finn shook his head as Bellamy entered the tent that Monty was currently working in, seated at the metal table, under a lamp that him and Raven had built out of wires, scrape metal and light bulbs from both the Dropship and the Exodus ship, connecting it to the Dropship by a long wire which was the only other source of power.

Monty looked up from what he was working on as Bellamy, and then soon after Finn entered the tent, a look of weariness on his face.

"Are they back, yet?" he asked, directing his question at Bellamy, unable to meet Finn's eyes though he knew that him and Raven hadn't really done anything wrong.

Finn looked down at the ground.

"No," said Bellamy. "We're going out to find them. I'm not going to let another member of my camp stay out there all night like Ella had to do. Finn and I are going and I want you to come with us. You've walked the trail before, and we could really use another set of hands."

Even though it was phrased as a question, Monty knew a command when he heard one.

Finn looked up at him then, and saw the other boy nod wearily.

If he had known what Bellamy was coming in here to do, then he would have tried to stop him. He didn't want this boy anywhere near Raven, despite how innocent he seemed.

Maybe, he was just being jealous, but nevertheless, he saw this boy as a threat to his and Raven's relationship and wasn't looking forward to being out in the woods with him for who knows how long, and didn't want to chance him being the one who ended up saving Raven, if in fact she was in some sort of trouble.

Taking another look at the boy made him feel a little better.

If it came between him and Monty who saved Raven's life, he could beat him a physical battle any day.

Bellamy hit Finn on the shoulder, bringing him back to reality. "We'll need a torch. Gather your things and be at the gate in five minutes."

Both boys nodded at the command and Finn ducked back out of the tent, into the cool night air.

Finn already had everything he needed – had before he even asked Bellamy to help him. He had been planning on going whether he agreed to it or not, but would much rather have the company.

Who knew what they would be up against.

Finn took a deep, inpatient breath, running a hand through his long brown hair.

Raven told him that she would cut it for him as it had hit a bit past his shoulders, but he knew from experience that she wasn't good with scissors. And, being down here, they didn't even have the luxury of the tool, so they had to improvise and use a knife if any of them wanted a hair cut. He had thought about asking Ella to do it. She was the one who always cut Murphy's hair for him and did a good job at it, but didn't want to risk hurting Raven's feelings.

Even though they were going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment, he always considered her feelings and well being in every decision that he made.

Finn looked over at the fire and watched as Bellamy wrapped a piece of cloth around a large stick and stuck the tip of it into the fire, letting it catch flame.

Monty ducked out of the tent then and Finn turned his head to give him a warning look as he walked past, the boy giving Finn a wide berth.

Finn followed a moment after when Bellamy caught his eye again, walking towards the gate, the torch lighting his way.

He joined the two boys at the gate and took a deep breath as they opened, revealing the deep, dark woods.

The thought of Raven out here made him shiver and he wondered if she was afraid.

He smiled to himself.

He didn't think that there was anything on this Earth that could scare his Raven.

Bellamy took up the lead, with Monty close behind, and Finn following just close enough that he could still see the path in front of him from the light of the torch, yet, trying to stay as far away from Monty as possible, without being too obvious that he didn't want to even walk next to him.

A dozen of odd sounds could be heard coming from deep in the woods: crickets, owls, and the occasional rustle of small night animals running through the underbrush.

* * *

They walked for hours until they came to a spot in the path where it broke into two directions. Bellamy stopped ahead of them and Finn walked up to his side glancing down one path than the other, both leading into complete darkness.

"Which way, Monty?" asked Bellamy, seemingly unfazed by the sudden fork in the rode.

"Right," said Monty, glad that neither one of them could see the blush that came to his face when he remembered his embarrassing moment when he had tripped over a root, running down that very path.

Without another word, Bellamy started down the right path, holding the torch up high to light it.

Finn shoved his hands into his pockets, this time, walking right next to Bellamy. His head swiveled around his neck like a top, looking for any sign of Raven, whether it was her knife or even a piece of her clothing – anything to tell him if she had to put up a fight against someone.

They walked for a few more miles up the knew path when Finn heard something in the distance. Bellamy must have heard it too, for he stopped at the same moment Finn did, Monty being the last to hear it and nearly running into the two.

"What was that?" whispered Monty harshly, undeniably scared.

"Shh," said Bellamy, holding up the hand that wasn't holding the torch for him to be quiet.

Shouting could be heard from up ahead and a flicker of hope went through Finn at the sound.

Maybe they were okay, and had just gotten lost.

He highly doubted that Grounders would be out in the middle of the woods arguing at night.

They picked up their speed, still making their way carefully.

When the voices got loud enough that they could tell they were very close to whomever they were coming from, Bellamy snuffed out the light of the torch and all three of them moved quietly through the trees towards the voices.

"Miller can do it, he was the one who suggested this whole thing in the first place with his stupid man pride-"

 _Harper._

"Why don't you just have your boyfriend do it, I heard he loves beating up on girls."

 _Monty._

"Or how about I just kill you, then the girl and we won't have to listen to you whine anymore."

 _James._

Finn started to get up from behind the bushes, feeling all of his fear wash away when the voices they heard matched those of the team that had been sent out, not even caring enough paying attention to what it was they were actually saying.

They were alive.

Before he made it out of hiding, Bellamy grabbed his arm and yanked him back down and out of sight.

Finn looked at him in confusion, but Bellamy just held a finger up to his lips and turned back to listen.

"Boys! Enough! Killing each other is hardly going to solve anything for the soul reason that I'm not going to be the one to kill her, so that would mean leaving her and risking her escaping."

"What would we care then, we'd be dead."

"Would everyone just stop talking for two seconds, I need to think."

Finn's heart started pounding.

Who were they talking about? And, why couldn't he hear Raven's voice among the tree?

That's when Raven's cry echoed through the darkness, turning his blood to ice.

"Someone just needs to kill Raven and get it over with, because if she gets away and tells the whole camp what we did to Ella, we're screwed."

That did it for Finn.

He bolted out of his hiding spot, Bellamy calling for him to come back, but he ignored him.

Both Harper and Miller had their backs turned to him, James the only one facing his direction and was the first to see him coming.

James cried out in surprise when he saw Finn barreling towards him, looking ready for a fight, then a slight hesitation came over him and Finn knew that he had seen Bellamy and Monty break through the trees behind him.

The other two turned in defense, but when they saw Bellamy, their stature changed and they both took off running.

Finn went right for Miller, tackling him down to the ground and saw Bellamy up ahead, catching hold of Harper and pinning her arms behind her back, James nowhere in sight.

Finn punched Miller in the face over and over, his rage consuming him, not giving the boy a single chance to fight back.

The loud sound of two solid objects colliding echoed through woods, snapping Finn out of whatever trance he had been in while beating the now unconscious Miller and looking up to see Monty crouched beside Raven who's form he was only now able to make out.

He instantly stood, his mouth open when he saw the lifeless form of James behind the much smaller boy, with a nasty head wound.

Monty had saved Raven's life.


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: Warning: Graphic**

* * *

Chapter 36

Raven Pov

"Raven! Raven! Can you hear me?"

Monty's shouts met Raven's ears as nothing but distant echos. She could see his lips moving a second before she heard his voice and only then let herself feel the pain she was in.

It washed over her as if a bucket of water had been poured on her head, and she cried out in pain as she felt the small fibers of rope bury themselves deeper into her flesh.

"It's okay, I'm here, Raven, you're safe now," he said in a forced calm voice, looking like he was going to pass out.

Just then, Finn's much bigger hand gripped Monty's shoulder, stopping his movements.

"I'll do it," he growled.

Without out another thought once he saw the look in the boys eyes, Monty scooted away, watching as Finn took his place, bending down beside Raven, taking out is knife, and cutting the rope away from the tree which was now smeared with her bright red blood.

A burst of light flared up behind them, and Raven saw Bellamy's face come into view in the light of the torch he had lit, now wandering around the area, looking at the bodies.

Harper stood next to him, not making a single move to get away.

They all knew that she knew that if she did, she would be dead by morning. The girl was much to self obsessed to do anything like scavenging or hunting, let alone sleeping on the ground. It was why she had been kicked off the hunting team, even though she had a good aim with her knife – something that had also been taking away from her.

No one in camp was aloud to carry a weapon unless they were a part of the hunting team, or a guard on the wall.

Raven winced, sucking in air through her teeth when Finn had to peel the rope away from her flesh. It had gone so deep that it had stuck there when the rope had been cut, but Monty took her mind off the pain when she turned and saw his profile in the fire's light, bent over and looking like he was going to throw-up. The sight almost made her smile at how easily he could become disturbed.

She turned her attention back to Finn who's hands were so delicate when he removed the rope from around her bloody wrists, his gentleness making her remember why she had fallen in love with him.

A single tear slid down her face, glinting in the light of the fire and a look of pain came over Finn's face when he saw it.

Ever so gently, he reached out a finger and brushed it away, before pulling her into a tight hug, just breathing in the scent of her and rocking back and forth.

A commotion from behind them made Finn turn his head around to see Bellamy standing over the body of James, with Monty, who he hadn't realized had left them alone, just a few feet away from him sitting on the ground with his legs pulled up, elbows on his knees, his head down, and hands fisted in his black hair.

"Finn," Raven whispered.

Her head had left his chest, looking in the same direction he was at the two boys next to the body.

"Oh, God," breathed Finn.

They both got to their feet, Finn helping Raven to stand and slowly walked over to the scene.

Raven felt like she was in a dream, feeling as though she were somehow outside of her body. She was breathing slow and heavy as she neared the body on the ground, knowing what she would find when she reached and not knowing if she wanted to at all.

Raven reached out for Finn's hand, not caring about the pain that it caused her, needing to feel some kind of comfort.

She looked up at Bellamy's face as he looked down at the boy at his feet, a grave expression on his face when he lifted his head to look back at her.

"He's dead," said Bellamy just as they reached him.

 _James was dead._

Raven felt as though she should feel sorrow for the loss of one of their camp members, or as terrible as it sounded to her, at the very least relived that he couldn't hurt her anymore.

But, she felt nothing.

Her whole body from the inside out was numb as she stared down at the lifeless boy at her feet, his still, paling body glowing orange from the sparking fire.

"We'll have to come back for him in the morning. Miller's unconscious, we have to carry him back, Raven is in no shape to help, and we have to keep an eye on Harper - and Monty-" he cut off looking at the trembling boy on the ground, leaving what he was going to say hang in the air. "We'll come back as soon as the sun comes up. I'll carry Miller, Finn you help Raven if she needs it, and both of you keep an eye on Harper."

"They're coming _back_ with us?" Finn shouted, making Raven jump at the venom his voice held.

Bellamy fixed him with a hard gaze. "Miller was our friend," he lowered his voice to a whisper so that Harper couldn't hear. "I not going to banish them without getting some answers first."

Raven had almost forgotten about Harper, and at the small reminder, looked around the dark trees around them, looking for the girl.

She could just make out her face, standing a yard away from them, looking for all the world like a stone statue. Her back was as straight as an arrow, arms at her sides and hands balled into fists. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and her mouth was hanging slightly open. She looked like she had gone into shock, frozen in place, her eyes fixed on James, laying on his stomach on the ground.

However, she felt no sympathy for the girl. After what she had done to Ella and then to her, she could care less about what Harper was feeling at the moment, after all, she had tried to do that very same thing to both her and Ella.

 _Numb._

Raven just stood there with dead eyes, feeling nothing as she looked back down at the boy at her feet - nothing as she looked at the girl he had just started dating.

Her only hope at feeling anything ever again, was the slight pain in her wrists, mixed with the small pain she felt at seeing Monty rocking back and forth with his knees tucked in, on the ground, mumbling something under his breath.

Bellamy had bent down beside him and was now talking to him in such a quiet voice that she was unable to hear what he was saying to him, but Monty didn't seem to be listening.

He had killed someone.

Raven couldn't even imagine what that must feel like.

He hadn't meant to, he had just been trying to help, and now that boy was dead because of him.

Knowing that he wasn't breaking through to him, Bellamy started talking a little bit louder and she was now able to hear some of what he was whispering to the boy in a tone softer than she had even known he was capable of.

"It wasn't your fault. We all know that you didn't mean to do it. They were going to do something terrible to Raven, and you saved her. You won't be banished for saving someones life. James wasn't a good person and would have been banished."

But, Monty still wasn't listening as he stared at the ground, fists almost pulling his hair out of his scalp and rocking back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Jasper Pov

It was very late by the time Jasper and and Emile made it to his tent, and noticed right away that Monty wasn't there. Sometimes he fell asleep in the tent he worked in, so Jasper didn't really think much about it. When this happened, he would usually go in and wake him up so that he could come lay down where it was more comfortable, knowing that if he didn't then Monty would complain about how sore his back and neck were the very next day. But, selfishly, he didn't want to. He wanted the tent to himself – well, himself and Emile.

Jasper walked over to where his blanket had been before and laid it back down along with his pillow, then turned back to face Emile where she still stood by the entrance of the tent.

She looked at him with a shy smile and he could see the heat rising in her cheeks, making him want to scoop her up in a tight hug.

"You said that you shared this tent with Monty?" she asked, looking over at the empty bed.

They had talked for so long in the Dropship before she had been cleared by Clarke to leave, that he thought he must have told her every single detail of what happened at camp as well as outside of camp before she had joined them.

Truth be told, he probably made himself out to be a bit more of a hero than was actually true - but he didn't really lie to her about anything.

"Yeah, he's probably in the tent a few down from this one, working on what ever project Bellamy gave him and Raven. He might not be back until morning," Jasper looked at the empty spot on the ground with a frown. "If you want, you can take his spot for tonight – Or, you could sleep with me – uh, well, you know what I mean – it might be a bit warmer. It gets cold down here at night."

He wanted to kick himself.

Emile's smile grew wider and wider as he spoke.

"I'll sleep with you – well, you know what I mean," she giggled, walking over to his bed and plopping down on her back with her hands above her head, smiling up at him.

That was it.

He was in love.

Jasper smiled back, kicking his shoes off as she did the same, letting them fall to the floor.

Usually, he would go without his shirt and pants and just sleep in his underwear, but that was when it was only him and Monty, and neither one of them really cared about how they looked when it was just the two of them. But, with Emile sleeping beside him, and Monty nowhere in sight, he had a feeling that she would be a little alarmed if he all of a sudden starting undressing in front of her.

He climbed into bed beside her after turning off the nightlight that Monty had made for their tent. The belt holding up his jeans was digging into his skin uncomfortably and he decided that he would just slip it out of the loops discretely once Emile had fallen asleep.

It was so quiet outside. Most of the kids in camp went to bed as soon as it got dark out, having to get up early to help run the camp, but some times a few would hang around the fire watching as it burned down to nothing but glowing embers. Mostly, this consisted of Bellamy, Raven, Finn, James and himself.

But, not tonight.

There was not a single noise outside but for the distant sounds of animals in the woods and the chirp of crickets, mixed with the sound of Emile's soft breathing beside him.

A feeling of peace washed over him, then – something that he hadn't felt since coming down here, always having to be on alert, knowing how many things – and people- wanted them dead.

But, knowing that he made someone who had been through so much, feel safe and secure made him feel braver than he had before. It made him feel important and needed and he knew that he would protect this girl with all he had in him.

Emile turned on her side, slowly inching a leg over his as he had done in the Dropship and placing a hand on his chest, absentmindedly playing with the fabric of his shirt.

She sighed and nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck when she knew that he wouldn't push her away, and he could feel her hot breath tickling the sensitive skin there.

He felt goosebumps pricking his arms and legs and didn't think that he was going to be able to fall asleep again if she kept distracting him like this.

He could sense her eyes looking up at him as she kept playing with his shirt.

"Jasper?" she whispered.

"Hmm?" he tried to look down at her, but it was much too dark in the tent now to make out her features.

"I can't fall asleep. I've sleep for hours already."

He smiled to himself, and rolled onto his side, just barley able to make out her silhouette.

As soon as he turned, he felt her put a soft, warm hand on his cheek and he closed his eyes at the warmth this sent through him. Her thumb brushed over his cheek, grazing his lips and he sucked in a breath of air, completely frozen in place.

"Jasper?" his name was whispered even quieter that time and he wished that he could see her expression. "Can I kiss you?"

His mouth nearly fell open at that. He suddenly couldn't move, speak, or breath.

Not waiting for him to answer, she slowly leaned in and pressed her lips gently to his.

He was so shocked that he didn't react for a moment. They had barely known each other – while she had been conscious at least – for more than forty-eight hours.

Sure, they had grown up with each other on the Ark, but they never once spoke, only giving one another passing glaces in the halls. And, yet, in the short amount of time they had spent with each other, he felt closer to her then he had to anyone other than Monty.

After a beat, he started kissing her back and instantly felt her body relax, which had stiffened as soon as she had kissed him and guessed that she had thought she would get rejected.

Emile was propped up on top of him with the leg that was slung over both of his now on one side of his legs and her other on the other side, forcing him back onto his back, both of her hands tunneling in his messy hair as she rested her elbows on either side of his head.

He only gave himself a moment to wonder what had come over her, before pushing the thought out of his mind.

He reached up with both hands, cradling her head and positioning it in a way so that he could deepen the kiss.

She moaned into his mouth, and the kiss became more passionate, both of them trying to get closer to the other.

He pressed a palm to the small of her back and her arms collapsed out from under her, no longer holding her weight.

Jasper broke the kiss, breathing heavily, his eyes now adjusting to the dark and he could make out the shocked expression on Emile's face at what she just did.

"I-I'm sorry," she gasped out.

"No, don't be," he gave her a sly smile. "I'm not."

She made a noise somewhere between a gasp and a laugh, letting her head fall on his shoulder.

"But, down here, in a camp full of criminals, it's really not a good idea to be throwing yourself at strangers like that."

That made her laugh, and she hit him lightly on the shoulder, before wrapping her arms tightly around him, not making a move to leave her position on top of him.

Jasper wrapped his arms around her as well, kissing her on the cheek. He could feel her heart pounding in her chest, matching the furious tempo of his own.

"Just because you took some extra food doesn't make you a criminal, so you don't count," she mumbled into the crook her his neck.

The reason why he had been sent to the Skybox was another thing that he had told her when they had been alone in the Dropship.

"Oh, good, then you can throw yourself at me anytime to want," he said sweetly, rolling them to the side to a more comfortable position.

Emile giggled, a sound that he loved and tried to get out of her as often as he could.

"Don't get cocky, or I'll have to throw myself at Monty instead. He also only took a bit of food, so he doesn't count as a criminal to me either," she said with fake indifference.

"Then, I shall have to duel him," he announced in a terrible medieval accent.

At this point, it really wasn't worth trying to pretend that he was cooler than he actually was.

She shook her head, and he could feel her smile against his neck as she placed a small kiss on the exposed skin.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Raven Pov

Finn gently set Raven down on their bed, sitting her on the edge with her feet dangling over the side.

Bellamy had taken Harper and Miller into the Dropship, locking them in the top compartment, and positioned two guards outside to make sure they didn't try to escape.

He had Clarke look Monty over in the main compartment, and had asked if she could look after him through the night. Monty had gone into complete shock after the death of James, who's body still remained in the woods where he had died.

By the time they made it back to camp, Raven had been exhausted, but it was nothing compared to the way Clarke looked. She now had to take care of Emile, Ella and Monty, so when she had offered to come to her tent to take care of her injuries, she had told her no.

Finn had started to protest at that, saying that she really should let Clarke take a look at her to make sure that she was all right, but eventually gave in, and offered instead to help her clean her wounds.

She watched as Finn walked over to the bucket of lukewarm water in the the corner of their tent, bending down to pick up the rag that hung over the side.

He hadn't said a word to her on their way back to camp, but she didn't think that he was still angry. But, his expression as they walked was impossible for her to read – something that didn't happen very often, and she wanted desperately to know what he was thinking.

Finn came back over to her side, the rag now slightly wet with water, and he gently took her right hand in his. Raven flinched back before the rag even made contact with her bloody wrist, and Finn looked at her, giving her a wry smile.

"My brave Raven's afraid of a little water?" he said jokingly.

Seeing him smile again made the pain she had felt since being tied up lessen just the slightest bit.

"Be careful, Finn," she said in a quiet voice.

Finn bent down to kiss the palm of her hand, then sat down on the bed beside her.

"I'll try."

Finn slowly brought the wet rag to her wrist and Raven had to squeeze her eyes closed when she felt a wave of dizziness brought on by pain wash over her. She gasped, holding tension in her shoulders and neck until he had washed all of the blood away from her wrist, and gently set in down in her lap.

Raven opened her eyes to see Finn take out one of the cloth bandages that Clarke had given them, and wrapped it around the same wrist he had just washed.

She watched his face as he did this, his expression soft and thoughtful. Before he could finished, Raven leaned in and kissed him, suddenly feeling the urge to do so, so strong that she couldn't resist.

Finn immediately stopped wrapping the cloth around her wrist and after a pause, kissed her back. It was slow and gentle, unlike most of the kisses that they shared. He treated her like she was made of glass and for once, she didn't mind.

Finn was the first to pull away, his eyes having darkened a considerable amount as he took a deep breath of air.

"I need to finish with your wrists. Don't worry, there will be plenty of time for that later though," he said lightheartedly, and she smiled a genuine smile at him.

She hated it when she and Finn fought, and was glad that he wasn't mad at her anymore. But, she could still tell that he was bothered by something, and was afraid to know what it was.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He looked up at her confused. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"Come on Finn, we've known each other our entire lives, I think I can tell when something is bothering you, so go on, spit it out," said Raven, trying to sound like she wasn't afraid of his answer.

 _What if he thought that she had cheated on him with Monty?_ _They hadn't done anything wrong – not really._

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head, then got up to dunk the rag back in the water.

She waited until he turned back around so that she could see his face, before continuing.

"Please, tell me, you're scarring me. You never keep things from me," she said.

Finn sighed. "I know that I've been busy lately," he said, taking a seat on the bed again and looking deep into her eyes. "I don't mean to ignore you, but things are just a bit chaotic at the moment. I promise though, that I will make more time for you."

She didn't know what to say to that. She thought that he was going to be mad at her for the way he had caught her acting around Monty, but instead, he was the one apologizing to her.

When she didn't say anything, he continued.

"Just answer me one thing, and we never have to talk about it again."

She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Did you cheat on me?"

His face held no expression in it as waited for her to answer. The calmness with which he had asked her the question made her want to scream.

"No!" she said quickly, standing. "I would never – never do that to you, I love you."

It was only when she saw the shock on his face that she realized that tears started streaming down her face. The guilt that she had carried with her for so long all caught up her at once.

Ella had warned her that even flirting with Monty would lead to something bad, but she never thought that harmless flirting could have the potential to ruin her and Finn's relationship, so she had just ignored her and did it anyway.

"On, no, Raven, don't cry," he said, pulling her into a hug. "I'm sorry, I know that you would never cheat on me."

She cried even harder at the sureness in his voice, even though he had caught her flirting with Monty just the other day.

"I'm so sorry, Finn," she whispered into his shoulder between sobs.

"Lets just forget about it, okay? If you say nothing happened, than nothing happened," he said with a soothing hand on her back.

Finn slowly backed them up to the bed, and sat her back down, taking her left hand in his. His kissed her palm like he had done to the right one before cleaning the blood away from her wrist once she was able to stop crying.

Once he had finished with that one, he threw the rag into the bucket of water and wrapped her wound in the clean cloth, and dried her eyes with his thumbs, cupping her face in his hands.

He then bent down to take off her shoes one at a time and slipped her pants off her legs, leaving her in her underwear, then took off his own shoes, pants and shirt and lifted the blanket back. They both slid under them and Raven sighed when he pulled her against him, feeling safe in his arms.

"I love you, Raven," Finn whispered in her ear.

"I love you, too," she whispered back.

He pulled her head down for a kiss, and she couldn't help the smile that came to her lips.

* * *

 **A/N:** **There just isn't enough time for me to fit as much in as I want to into forty chapters as I said that I was going to do, so I've decided to push it up to around fifty chapters instead. I finally got all the characters together that I wanted to and I think that I want to write about them a little longer. ;)**


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Ella Pov

Ella nuzzled her face into the crook of Murphy's neck and pulled the thin blanket that was around her waist up to her chin. She wasn't cold, she could see the sun starting to filter in through the tent itself and with it came the warm morning of summer. She just liked the feeling of comfort that it brought her along with the comfort of feeling Murphy's warm body beside hers, and of his chest slowly rising and falling.

She had slept in the same bed as him hundreds of times before, but last night felt different. She had been up most of the night, every accidental touch in the night affecting her in ways it hadn't before.

Or, at least in ways that she tried to ignore.

Ella snuggled deeper into the blankets and started drawing random patterns on his clothed chest. He always wore his shirt and jeans to bed when he slept with her, but knew that when he was alone, he preferred to go without either. Whenever she had come to his tent in the middle of the night, he had always been in nothing but his underwear, and had always put his cloths back on as soon as she asked if she could sleep with him. His face had always gone red, matching the color of her own as she watched him dress.

They had been in love with each other for so long - how was it that neither one of them could see it?

Before, just the thought of him returning her feelings was to much to hope for. Because, if she knew for sure that he didn't feel the same way, the depression that she had felt her whole life would have caused her to do something monumentally dangerous.

Ella pushed the thought out of her mind, not liking where her brain was taking her.

Murphy was starting to stir under her and she rolled her eyes at herself when she felt butterflies in her stomach.

 _Come on, Ella, you've known him forever, are you really going to act like this around him just because you started dating!_

When his eyes fluttered opened, he immediately looked down at her, a smile coming to his lips.

"Good morning, beautiful."

Ella smiled and turned her head down to hide her blush.

"Good morning," she said quietly.

She felt his chest rumble as he picked her up under the arms and slid her up his body so that he could kiss her. Ella leaned into the kiss, her legs falling to either side of his hips to help hold her weight, her hands resting on his chest as the kiss deepened.

Murphy tunneled a hand into her hair to tilt her head slightly to the position he liked, pressing a hand to her back to flatten her against him, slipping a hand under the back of her shirt so that it rested on the small of her back. Neither one of them broke the kiss until the need for air became to much to bare.

Ella's face was flushed and she gasped for air, feeling dizzy.

"You have no idea how many times I've dreamed about doing that every morning we've spent together," he growled in her ear, kissing the sensitive skin there.

A small moan escaped her lips at the gentle touch and he hummed his approval, kissing farther down her neck until their angle stopped him from going any farther.

Ella's heart was beating so fast that she thought it might explode out of her chest. She dropped her head onto the pillow beside his, kissing his shoulder where the skin was slightly exposed.

"If you want to take things slow, than we're going to have to stop, because I don't know how much longer I can hold back."

Ella giggled into his shoulder, turning her head so that she could kiss the side of his neck.

"I'm serious, Ella, stop or you'll be deathly sorry," he said, pinching her sides.

She laughed, and sucked on his sensitive skin.

"That's it!" he said, sitting up with her still on top of him and flinging her over his shoulder like a rag doll, sitting up on his knees. "I'm throwing you in the river."

"No!" she shrieked, laughing and kicking her feet, clawing for the bed to keep him from standing up.

She grabbed hold of the blanket that he was still kneeling on, making him lose his balance, falling backwards and taking her with him.

Murphy lifted her up before her head was crushed, causing her to fall on his stomach, straddling him.

By now, Ella's face was beat red from both laughing and being upside down, and she smiled down at him, leaning forward to place a hand on both sides of his head.

Murphy reached up and tangled his hands in her platinum hair, winding his fingers around the strands that fell forward like a curtain.

"Well, I see your voice is back," came Clarke's voice somewhere to their right.

Ella immediately straighten up to see Clarke standing a few feet beside the bed, not looking the least bit embarrassed at the position she had caught them in.

She looked ten times worse than the last time Clarke had come in to check on her, with dark circles under her eyes, face gone of any color and hair and cloths a mess. She look like she hadn't slept in days.

"Wow, you look awful," said Murphy, still under her, and Ella hit him lightly on the chest, before climbing off of him.

Ella went straight for Clarke, putting a hand on her shoulder and looking at her with a concerned expression.

"Clarke, you should really get some rest," she said soothingly, putting a hand to the other girls forehead to check for a fever.

Clarke laughed, a sad pathetic laugh. "I can't, I have to many patents to attend to."

Ella looked at her confused. "But, I thought that it was only Emile and I you were watching after. Has something happened?"

Clarke's eyes widened when she realized that no one had told her yet about what had taken place the other night.

"Oh, uh, no, everything's fine. You should probably stay in bed just for one more day, you shouldn't be excited right now," said Clarke, not meeting her eyes.

"Clarke, what aren't you telling me?" Ella demanded.

She saw Murphy sit a little straighter at the girls odd behavior.

Clarke sighed, looking from Ella to Murphy, then back again. "Something happened last night. I don't know much about it, and I don't think that it would be right coming from me," she looked at the ground.

"Did something happen to Emile?" asked Ella.

When Clarke didn't answer her, Ella started to panic, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Is it Raven?"

"Ella, I really think you should sit down-"

"Clarke, please, just tell me!"

Murphy had moved to stand beside her with a hand to her back, his eyes on Clarke. She looked so torn between something, and when Ella looked up at Murphy's face she saw understanding gracing his features.

"There's been a death," he said with a nod of his head.

Clarke took a deep breath. "James," she breathed back out.

Ella felt a horrible rush of relief that it hadn't been Raven, Jasper, Monty or Finn.

"What happened?" demanded Murphy.

"I don't know exactly," said Clarke, shaking her head. "Bellamy said that he wanted to talk to you both when you woke up."

She looked Ella up and down, then brought her hands gently to her throat to check for any swelling.

"You're okay to go, Ella, but try not to over due anything today, alright? You weren't severely dehydrated, but you'll still feel sick if you over exert yourself, so try to rest as much as possible"

Ella nodded quickly, the good mood she had been in starting to slip away.

Once Clarke left, Murphy and Ella rushed to get dressed, Murphy getting done before her, since all he had to do was pull his shoes on, but waited for Ella beside the tent flap as she put her cloths back on.

Once she was done, they both left the tent hand in hand, heading for the Dropship, completely unprepared for what lay inside.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Murphy Pov

As soon as Murphy stepped out of the tent, he knew that something was wrong. The Dropship door was up. The only other time he had seen the door closed was the day they brought Emile back.

Everyone else in camp kept looking over at the ship with anxious and confused expressions on their faces.

Murphy looked down at Ella, and she returned his look with one of confusion.

They made their way to the Dropship and that's when he saw the guards standing outside.

"Something's wrong," Ella said, shaking her head, looking at the guards, and immediately picked up the pace.

When they made it to the ship, one of the two guards that usually took shifts guarding the wall, stopped him from going any farther by putting out one of his hands.

"Bellamy wanted to see us," said Murphy, glaring at the boy.

He gave Murphy a superior look, before knocking three times on the metal door.

"Step back," he demanded.

Murphy and Ella both took a few steps out of the way, when suddenly, the door started lowering to the ground, meeting it with a loud bang, and blowing a puff of dry dirt into the air.

Ella coughed, waving a hand in front of her face.

Bellamy appeared from inside the ship and nodded for the guards to let them pass.

Murphy gave the boy who had stopped him a mock smile, causing Ella to roll her eyes at his childish behavior, and both of them walked up the door that now acted as a bridge, into the ship.

Bellamy was the only person inside, and as soon as they entered, Murphy noticed that one of the chairs at the table was pushed out, a gun laying on the table in front of it.

"Take a seat," said Bellamy, walking back over to his own chair, and picking up the gun to lay it across his lap.

"What's going on?" asked Ella as soon as she took the seat directly across from Bellamy's.

"Clarke said that James was killed last night. Was it Grounders?" asked Murphy.

Bellamy sighed, scratching his head. "She shouldn't have told you that," he said in a tired voice.

Murphy stared at him, waiting for him to answer.

"No, it wasn't Grounders. And, I wanted to speak with both of you, because what took place last night is connected with what happened to Ella in the woods."

Ella's expression was a mixture of shock and confusion.

"B-But, you said that it wasn't Grounders," she stammered.

Bellamy shook his head.

"You mean, one of our own did this?" asked Murphy incredulously.

"Not one, three."

Ella took a sharp intake of breath. "Who?"

Bellamy looked from her to Murphy. "James, Harper-" he paused and took a deep breath here, "and Miller."

"No," said Murphy in denial. "No, no – Harper? Miller? They couldn't- they wouldn't do something like that."

Ella was silent, looking down at the table in shock.

"When the team went out to look for who had done this to Ella, Miller flipped out on Raven before they could make it back-"

"Is she okay?" Ella almost shouted at that, breaking her out of her shock.

"She's fine. The three tied her to a tree after she had figured out that it was Miller who had dragged you out into the woods. Finn came to me in camp while this was going on, afraid that something had happened to them because they were taking so long, so we went out to find them," said Bellamy, looking down at the gun in his lap, an odd look on his face.

Murphy's brows drew together. "What?"

Bellamy looked up at him in surprise as if he had just been caught with his hand inside the cookie jar. "What do you mean "What"?"

Murphy stared at him for a few seconds before groaning and shaking his head in understanding, making Bellamy wince.

"What?" asked Ella confused.

Bellamy sighed. "I had had suspicions about both James and Miller after the day Murphy had found you in the woods. I had kept my eye on them both, but never approached them once about it. If I had, then none of this would have happened last night," he closed his eyes. "James would still be alive."

"So?" said Murphy sarcastically.

"Murphy," Ella scolded under her breath.

"What? He got what was coming to him. He was dangerous, more so than most, if not all of the people down here. You saw the way he treated the girls around camp, they were all afraid of him. You can't defend someone who tied you to a tree and left you out into the woods to die, not to mention what he did to Raven," said Murphy, he voice raising higher and higher, looking over at Bellamy. "What are we going to do with the others?"

"You have to calm down, Murphy-"

"I am calm!"

Ella put a hand to her head, massaging her eyelids as if she were getting a headache.

"I have them locked up there," said Bellamy reluctantly, pointing up to the ceiling with the tip of his gun, bringing Murphy to the realization of why he was holding it in the first place.

"You have Miller and Harper _in here_?" he asked dangerously.

He had the sudden urge to get up from this table and give them both what they deserved.

Ella could see something in his eyes that made her heart squeeze for Murphy.

Betrayal.

Both his friend and his ex-girlfriend having done what they had to her when she had done nothing at all to hurt them.

"You should have killed them, too," Murphy said, his voice changing from one of venom to one that held no emotion at all.

Ella didn't scold him when he said that, neither her or Bellamy looking at him, not knowing what to say to that.

"What _are_ we going to do with them?" Ella finally asked, looked across the table at Bellamy.

"After I speak to them both individually, then their out of here," he said simply.

Murphy folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, looking over at Bellamy.

"And, what makes you think their going to talk? They both know that they can't stay here, not after what they did. If they know that they have nothing left to lose, then why answer your questions?"

"Because, if they don't, they'll be hung," said Bellamy in the same simple voice.

Ella stiffened. "You can't mean that."

"No one messes with my camp, and their going to find that out today. They're lucky that we didn't do exactly what Murphy said and killed them both in the woods. Their lucky to be getting out of this with their lives. I'm going to get my answers. Miller has been a loyal companion to me and I need to know why he did this."

Ella looked down at the table.

"Do whatever you want. But, if you do end up having to hang them, than I want a front row seat," said Murphy with empty eyes.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Jasper Pov

Jasper rolled over in bed, coming face to face with a peacefully sleeping Emile. Her face, though better, was still marked here and there with cuts and bruises and he knew from the experience they had shared in the Dropship, when Clarke had to burn away the infections in some of her cuts, that the rest of her body matched.

To see her now, looking so calm and relaxed beside him pulled a string in his heart.

He had been awake before the sun, but had stayed in bed with Emile in case she woke up and he had stepped out of the tent, alone.

What had kept him from falling back asleep was the flashback of last night, when Emile had kissed him. He had thought about that kiss all morning, wondering what she would think about it when she woke up.

Would she think that he had taken advantage of her?

No. She couldn't. She was the one who had kissed him.

It had confused him greatly, not knowing were it had come from. It had seemed so out of the blue to him.

His only hope was that she didn't regret it when she woke up.

Jasper could hear the camp waking up outside as people set to work. The clank of metal, the shouts passed from one side of camp to the other, and the smell of breakfast being made – the scent of the raw, tasteless food they were going to have, wafting into his tent.

He was concerned for a moment that Emile would sleep past breakfast and not get anything to eat. He wondered if he should slip out of the tent quietly, to get them both something to eat and come right back.

On the other hand, he wasn't exactly sure if she was going to be able to keep anything down at all, let alone what was being prepared.

Emile started to stir beside him, driving the thought from his mind, and he sat up when he saw her slowly open her eyes, bracing himself for whatever it was she had to say about last night.

"Jasper," she whispered in a half awake voice, rolling onto her side and propping her head up with an arm under it.

Her eyebrows lifted when she saw the odd expression on his face as though he were waiting for her to say something more. She lifted herself up a bit higher so that she was propped up with her hand on her cheek.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Jasper closed his eyes for a second, then opened them again, looking her in the eye.

"We need to talk about what happened last night," he breathed out.

Emile looked down at the bed. "I don't know what came over me," she said in a small voice.

"You don't have to be embarrassed about it, we all do things we don't mean to-"

"I knew what I was doing. I don't regret kissing you, something just came over me," she shook her head. "I don't know, I guess I just needed to feel – _something_."

Jasper gave Emile a small smile and slid back down in bed to meet her level. He reached out with the hand that he wasn't holding himself up with and gently caressed her warm cheek.

"I can't imagine what you went through. But, I want you to know that I'm here for you – whatever you need, I'm your guy."

Emile closed her eyes and smiled and Jasper watched as a single tear slid down her face.

"Thank you," she breathed out, eyes still closed.

Jasper wiped the tear away with his thumb and leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead.

"Come here," he said, laying back on his pillow and holding out his arms to her.

She moved into them without the slightest hesitation, laying her head down on his chest, with her arm slung over his torso.

Jasper was amazed at how she always seemed so relaxed when she was with him. Whenever Clarke or Bellamy had come into the Dropship, she had tensed right up, always staying as close to him as she could, and when he moved away, her eyes would following him around the room, waiting anxiously for him to return to her.

He wondered what it was about him that made her so comfortable. No one in camp had ever given her a reason to be afraid of them. He knew that what had happened to her in the short amount of time she had been down here had scared her. Clarke had cared for her most of the time, being the only one who knew what she was doing when it came to herbs and other natural medicines they could find. And, yet, from day one, she only aloud herself to relax- only felt safe when she was with him.

"Has Monty come in, yet?" asked Emile.

Jasper felt guilt wash over him for completely forgetting about his best friend.

"No, he hasn't."

It did seem odd to him that he hadn't seen Monty once in over twenty-four hours, since they had first brought Emile back to the camp. Every time Monty had fallen asleep in the work tent, he always came back either in the middle of the night, or as soon as the sun rose, the light never failing to wake him up in the morning.

Emile looked up at him when she heard the concern in his voice.

"Do you think we should go check on him?"

Jasper closed his eyes, torn on what to do here. He was concerned about Monty, but the thought of leaving this bed right now was definitely not a pleasant one.

He sighed, sinking father down in the bed. "In a second."

Emile giggled, the sound instantly bringing a smile to Jasper's face and driving the guilt out of him.

"You should stay in here and rest, though, you really shouldn't be walking on that leg, yet, and I know for a fact that as soon as you get out of this bed, you're going to drop right to the floor from dizziness. There were a few times last night on the walk just to my tent that I thought I was going to have to catch you from falling on your face," he said lightheartedly.

Emile gripped his shirt. "I don't want you to leave me."

Jasper put a hand over hers and rubbed his thumb soothing over the tensed muscles.

"I really should check on Monty, but I promise that I'll come right back. There isn't a hunting trip planned for today, that I know of, so you don't have to worry about me leaving for very long."

Jasper could feel her heart pounding against his side and both the guilty and torn feeling came back at full force.

When he looked at her, he could see that she was trying desperately to fight tears from spilling over.

"You'll be right back?" she asked, trying hard to keep her voice from breaking.

"I promise, just give me two minutes, okay?" he said reassuringly, sliding out from under her.

Emile nodded, and watched as he quickly pulled his shoes on.

Before he left the tent, Jasper walked back over to the bed to give Emile one last kiss on the top of her head, then turned and ducked through the flap, into the bright morning sun.

Jasper felt the tension in camp as soon as he left his tent, and looked over at the Dropship to see that the door was up. He frowned at this, but stayed on track, walking over to the work tent.

Once he got there, he threw the flap back and ducked inside, taking a few steps towards the table.

But, Monty wasn't there.

A feeling of dread washed over him, mixed with confusion and anxiety.

He immediately ducked back out and jogged over to last nights fire, where a few kids sat on the logs around the ashes.

Jasper went right for Octavia, Bellamy's sister, tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention as she sat flirting with one of the guys in camp.

"Where's Monty?" he asked when she turned around.

Octavia nodded towards one of the tents across from his own. "In Clarke's tent."

Jasper looked at her confused. "Clarke?"

"Yeah, she wanted to keep an eye on him. You should have seen him when he got back last night, the kid looked like he had seen a ghost. No one knows what's going on, but whatever took place in the woods last night must have been one hell of a show. Can't believe I missed it."

Jasper only became more and more confused as she spoke.

"Monty was in the woods last night?"

Octavia shrugged.

Jasper backed up, before turning around, knocking over a bucket in his hast, and running for Clarke's tent.

Without warning, he whipped the flap aside, his eyes taking a moment to adjust to the dim light.

Monty was sitting on the floor of Clarke's tent, his feet kicked out straight in front of him, a blank expression on his face. Clarke was bent over him, placing a wet rag to his forehead and whispering soothing words into his ear.

She turned around when he came in, looking relieved as soon as she saw him.

"Jasper," she smiled.

Jasper looked from her to his friend in dismay. "What happened to him?"

"I killed James," Monty whispered.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Finn Pov

Finn tucked Raven under the covers all the way up to her chin. The wounds on her wrists weren't deep, but they did have cause for worry seeing as they didn't have the proper tools to disinfect them and the rope that had cut though the skin was old and covered in dirt and dust. But, he had cleaned the wounds as best he could and had just finished carefully changing her bandages while she slept.

He didn't remember ever feeling as angry or frightened as he had last night when he had heard what James, Miller and Harper were talking about and then seeing Raven tied to that tree.

He didn't even remember running for Miller until he had been snapped out of his raged, covered in the other boy's blood. He was surprised that he hadn't killed him and even more surprising was that he knew that he would have if he hadn't been stopped.

Finn had known Miller on the Ark. They weren't very closed, but he had still considered him a friend. Once they were stuck down here however, they worked well together on the days that Finn went hunting with the team, or hiked to the Exodus ship.

He would have trusted the boy with his life. There was just something about him that seemed so loyal and so determined that it made you _want_ to trust him.

He couldn't say the same for the other two

The fact that James and Harper were in on it too hadn't surprised him nearly as much, though it was still shocking that it had been anyone from camp at all who had done what they did to Ella. But, the fact that Miller had been in on it had shocked him so much that he had run for the boy without even thinking about what he was doing until his fist had connected with his face.

Finn now stared down at Raven by the side of the bed. He was wearing nothing but his old, ripped jeans, his hair still a mess from sleeping. He had been much more concerned with Raven upon first awaking.

Last night as they had been searching for the missing team, Finn had thought about what would happen if they never found them. He had become more and more worried that if they never found them, he would never get to make things right with Raven.

He had told himself that if – that _when_ they found them that he would move past what he had seen in that tent.

Finn had seen Raven flirting with Monty before. She had never done it with any other guy, it was only him. He had wanted to confront her about it, but couldn't accuse her of something that he wasn't one-hundred percent sure of.

He knew better than to doubt Raven.

It had always tugged at the back of his mind however, though he told himself that it was nothing. Then, when he had caught her yet again flirting with him in the work tent, he knew that if he didn't remove himself right then that he was going to do something that he would later regret. So, he just left and didn't even want to speak to her after that.

He knew that she had felt guilty about what she did, and despite the betrayal he had felt at seeing the two, he believed her when she said that she would never cheat on him.

Finn had always thought that, because Raven was so strong, she didn't always need the reassurance of his love like a lot of the girls he had heard the others guys complain about needed. But, she was still human, and he could admit that he had been so wrapped up in his work lately that he had neglected her a bit.

That didn't mean that he thought what she had done was right, but he tried his hardest to see where she was coming from, because the alternative would be blocking it out altogether, which would then lead to the anger just building and building inside of him until they inevitably broke up, and the thought was to horrible a one to bare.

He loved Raven more than he thought that she was even aware and hated the thought of her ever doubting that for a second.

Finn decided that he was going to try his hardest to be there for her now. He never wanted her to doubt his love for her again, and would see that she didn't.

Finn moved to the other side of the tent where he kept his cloths in his pack and grabbed up his shirt, pulling it on, then walked back over to sit on the side of the bed to pull on his shoes.

Before he finished pulling the second one onto his foot, he felt two arms wrap around his waist from behind.

"Good morning," Raven sighed sleepily.

"Morning," said Finn, rubbing her arm. "How are your wrists?"

Raven looked down at them over his shoulder. "You changed the bandages?"

Finn tried to hold back his smile. "Once you're asleep, nothing can wake you up."

Raven smiled and kissed the back of his shoulder, then rested her cheek on the spot she had kissed.

"They've never been better. Where are you going?"

"I have to talk to Bellamy," he said, wincing, hoping that she wouldn't ask him why.

"Why?"

He sighed.

"We have to deal with James," he said reluctantly.

She was quiet for a long time.

"What are you going to do with him?" she finally asked.

Finn had to think about that for a moment. He really didn't know what Bellamy was planning on doing with James's body. Were they going to bury him by the others in camp whom they had lost? Somehow that didn't seem right, and yet not burying him by the others also didn't seem right.

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head.

Raven turned her head, pressing her forehead to his back and leaning forward to kiss it.

"I love you," she whispered.

Finn closed his eyes. "I love you, too."

Turning around, Finn cupped the side of her head and kissed her on the lips, before standing up and heading for the tent flap.

"This shouldn't take more than a few hours and then maybe you and I can have lunch together."

The smile that spread across her face at the simple suggestion made him want to kick himself for how he had neglected her.

"Sounds good."

Finn smiled and winked at her, then ducked out of the tent and headed over to the Dropship where he knew that two prisoners were held, and carrying the weight on his shoulders of the knowledge that he had to help move the body of one more.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Ella Pov

As soon as Bellamy had finished talking with her and Murphy, she ran straight for Raven and Finn's tent, Murphy staying behind to talk to Bellamy about the moving of James's body.

Without stopping, she ran right into the tent to find Raven sitting on the edge of her bed, pulling her boots on.

"Oh, my God, are you okay?" Ella exclaimed when she saw the clean white bandages wrapped around the other girl's wrists.

Raven smiled when she saw her, and the flustered, motherly worry on her face and shrugged. "I'm fine. Just a bit scratched up."

Ella rushed to the bed and threw her arms around Raven, trying not to hold her too tight so as not to crush her.

"Where were you going? You have to rest," said Ella as soon as her worried mind registered that when she came in Raven had been in the middle of leaving her tent.

Raven shook her head smiling. "I'm fine Ella, you're the one who needs to rest. You're pale and out of breath just from running in here. No matter what you say, you're not better, yet."

"Okay, fine, I feel like crap, but I'll only rest if you do, too."

"Ella-"

"Raven," Ella cut in, mirroring Raven's annoyed tone, getting another small smile and an eye roll out of the girl.

"Fine," said Raven, pulling her boots back off and scooting back in the bed so that her back was pressed up against the back of the tent. She patted the empty spot beside her and Ella crawled over to sit beside her, leaning her head against the tent wall.

"I saw Finn walking into the Dropship when I left. He's going with Bellamy and Murphy to go move James's body, isn't he?" asked Ella when she settled in.

Raven nodded. "They wanted to leave as early as possible, but there was some concern with leaving the prisoners while they went out. Apparently, Bellamy wanted to triple the guards while he was gone, but that would mean taking men from the wall, and there are so few to guard it as it is."

"The camp is really falling apart, isn't it?" Ella said quietly, staring off in the distance, a frown on her face.

Raven took her hand in hers.

"It'll get better. Lets change the subject. How are things going with you and Murphy?"

An instant smile came to Ella's lips just at hearing his name.

"Good- great actually," the smile started to slip from her lips then. "I wanted to ask you about something."

"Yeah?" asked Raven, when she didn't elaborate.

"How long did you and Finn wait before you – you know," Ella face turned beat red.

Raven laughed. "You really can't be thinking about that already!"

Ella smiled. "Why not?"

"Because, you guy _just_ started dating, that's why not. You have to wait at _least_ a week."

"Oh, really, is that a rule?" Ella said jokingly. "Tell me Raven, how long did you and Finn wait."

"That's besides the point."

"Ah, ha. See, you can't criticize me on thinking about doing something you yourself didn't even wait to do."

"We had known each other forever-"

"So have Murphy and I."

Raven put a hand to her forehead. "I just don't think you're ready."

"Come on, I'm almost eighteen, how long do you want me to wait?" said Ella exasperated.

"You should just think about it a little longer before you do something you'll regret. Because, it really is a big deal."

"I know it's a big deal. But, I've waited for him my entire life. Usually, when two people start dating, they try to take things slow so that they can get to know the other person a bit better, but I already know Murphy even better than he knows himself."

"You still should get use to being in a relationship first."

"But, you just said that you didn't."

Ella could tell that Raven was running out of excuses, looking like she was becoming more and more desperate to think of ways to talk her out of what she wanted to do.

"You're different than I am, Ella. You let things affect you more, and I just want you to be sure that you're really ready for that."  
Ella reached out to hug Raven, resting her head on her shoulder, and throwing one of her legs over one of hers.

"I don't think that I thank you enough for looking out for me," said Ella, relaxing into her friend's returned embrace.

"You're not going to take my advice are you?"

"No, probably not," Ella laughed.

Raven sighed. "I just really hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

"I don't, but that's half of the fun."

"Uh, I'm going to have to have a strong talk with Murphy if you're seriously thinking about – wait, he's not pressuring you into doing anything is he? Because, if so, you know I'm going to have to tare him apart from limb to limb-"

"No, he's not pressuring me into doing anything that I don't want to do. It's the opposite actually, he was pretty much saying the same things you're saying."

Raven squeezed her tighter. "Oh, Ella, you're too pure for this world."

Ella giggled. "Not for long," she joked.

"Okay, am I going to have to get a bucket of ice water to throw on you, or am I going to have to go all the way to locking you up in the hatch with the other prisoners waiting to be banished from camp?"

Ella laughed, knowing that she was only half joking.

"I love you, Ella. Please, please, be careful."

"I will. I wish you could see what a great guy Murphy is, he really does love me."

Raven was quiet for a while and Ella could tell that she was thinking about something.

"I know he is. I can see how he acts around you. He always tries to act tough around everyone else, but no one can miss how soft he can become when he's around you. That still doesn't mean that I like him, but if he makes you happy, and I know he does, than I'm happy for you. And, I'll be standing by to beat him up if he ever does anything at all to hurt you," she added sweetly.

Ella laughed, shaking her head. "I wouldn't expect anything less."


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Murphy Pov

After stationing six guards, both inside and outside of the Dropship, Bellamy finally felt comfortable with leaving camp. Not all of the teens in camp had a steady job to do, so he had decided to leave the ones who were guarding the wall where they were and instead have some of the other boys despite their lack of experience to help guard the ship.

The hatch was so secure that Murphy doubted that the prisoners were going to get loose, but Bellamy had insisted on no less than six guards at all times.

Though they lacked experience, the men that Bellamy had found were all tall and well built for teenagers, and could hold up against one injured boy and a shaken up girl no problem.

Finn and Murphy were the only ones accompanying Bellamy on the hike. Ella was still recovering from being out in the woods without food or water for such a long period of time and Raven's wrists would not being doing her any favors when it came to throwing a knife if they happened to run into any danger.

That left Jasper, who, between Emile and Monty, they decided to let stay in camp.

The gates in front of the three swung open at Bellamy's signal, revealing the woods behind them, a sight that now seemed a dull one.

Every other time they had gone out into the world, Murphy always got a jolt of excitement in getting to see the Earth he had only gotten to read about in school, before.

But, the woods now seemed darker somehow. They had always held things that could could cause them harm, but the thought now of having to go out there was a daunting one.

Most of the times they had had to go out, all they had to do was set out to find squirrels or berries.

But, now, they had to retrieve a boy's body.

Murphy suddenly wished that Ella were going with them. She always had a way of making him feel better, even when she didn't know it.

Taking a deep breath, they started out into the woods, following the now very visible tail, after so any feet had walked over it.

Murphy remembered tracking this trail in his search for Ella. It was difficult to keep track of, but he knew that he would have stayed out there all night to find her.

Murphy couldn't believe how blind he had been when it had come to Harper. He couldn't even see how little she had change. The only thing that _had_ changed about the girl was that she had become better at hiding her true colors.

He never once felt the connection to her that he felt with Ella. His and Harper's relationship had been mostly physical. They hadn't talked or joked around like he did with Ella, and his eyes were now open to how the two girls were like the difference between night and day. Ella loved and cared for the people around her, always trying to do the right thing, while Harper was rude and demanding with everyone in camp.

His relationship with her had been mostly just the two of the arguing, then make up sessions, on repeat.

With Ella, he knew that he could be himself and she would love him unconditionally.

And, now, Harper was about to be banished from camp.

When he had first heard that Harper had been a part of what had taken place out in the woods, he had felt surprised at first. Then, all of the things that the girl had done to the other kids in school came flooding back to his mind as well as the rude comments and smug smiles she had given others behind his back when she thought that he wasn't looking.

She had always tried to hid the terrible things that she did to those in camp behind his back, but he had caught her a few times and had become more and more suspicious that the girl hadn't changed at all. He had kept a close eye on her, but she always had a way of wriggling out of questions, or just detracting him all together.

That wasn't to say that he hadn't enjoyed at least some of the time they had spent together. There were a few moments that he could look back on that he had really enjoyed with Harper, but it pained him to think that maybe all of those moments were lies as well.

One thing that Murphy knew for sure was that he didn't have to worry about that when it came to Ella. She was the kind of person where what you see is what you get. She never tried to be anything she wasn't. But, what he really loved about her was that she had no idea how beautiful she was. She never let how she looked go to her head like most girls he had been with had. It was quite the opposite with her. He tried to tell her as often as he could growing up of how beautiful she was, knowing that she had very low self-esteem.

Just thinking about Ella now, made the trip easier on Murphy. He had never seen a dead body until coming down here and the few times he had, he had always had her right by his side.

But, he felt good knowing that she was safe back at camp, with people who could protect her, even if those people weren't him.

She did have Raven however, who wouldn't let a single person get to Ella as long as she was by her side.

As the sun rose higher and higher in she sky, Murphy could tell that they were getting near their destination, and his heart started beating faster with the thought.

He looked over at Finn and Bellamy, both on his right, and saw his expression of dread mirrored on their faces and felt good that he wasn't the only one.

As soon as they approached the area they were searching for, James instantly stood out among the green and brown of the forest.

Something that Murphy had been afraid of on their hike there was that they would approach this spot and James's body would be gone. He guessed that he had just seen too many scary movies.

The pale white of the boy's skin could be easily seen through the greenery, sending a shiver up Murphy's spine.

Finn had gone completely white at seeing the boy on the ground, Bellamy stopping before him with an unreadable expression.

It had seemed so simple that they would come out here and bring the boy back to camp. But, seeing him now made him think that simple was the last word that could be used to explain this situation.

They had brought a blanket with them to wrap the body in and Bellamy turned and took it out of his pack now, but didn't make a single move towards the body.

None of them talked; they just stood there quietly, staring at the boy, all of them looking lost.

He seemed so innocent now – so young and hopeless. As much as he tried not to, despite what he had done, Murphy still felt the lose of a human life. This boy who still had so much left to do. He had finally come home – had made it to Earth, and now would never get to truly see the world.

He hated that he felt this way after what James had done to Ella, and had thought that he would feel differently once he had seen the body, but he couldn't.

"So," breathed Finn, not taking his eyes off of James and looking like he was going to pass out. "What now?"

Bellamy coughed, looking around the surrounding trees as if looking for the answer in there.

"We have to take him back to camp, we can't just leave him out here," he said, drawing his eyes back to James.

Murphy felt sicker the longer he looked at the pale body, and felt like he was going to throw-up.

Finn got so pale that he finally had to just turn his back on the body, doubling over with his hands braced on his knees.

"If you want to carry him back, fine by me, but I really don't think I can last that long," he said, going even paler.

Murphy looked up at the cloudy sky, unable to look at the boy anymore, either.

"We should just bury him here," said Murphy. "We were all on the fence about whether or not we were going to bury him by the others."

Bellamy shook his head. "That doesn't seem right."

"It's a three hour trip back to camp, and I don't think that any of us can make it that whole way carrying a dead body on our shoulders," said Murphy, kicking up dirt.

Bellamy looked down at the ground, then back in the direction they had just come in, a grimace on his face.

Murphy's heart was pounding just from being so close to the body, and knew right then that none of them were going to be able to make that trip back to camp.

"Alright," Bellamy sighed. "We bury him here."

Finn straightened up, though avoided looking at the lifeless boy on the ground. He wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead and took a shaky, deep breath.

"We'll tell the others what happened after I talk to Miller and Harper. They deserve to know, but I can't have the camp in chaos knowing that we have two prisoners locked up in the hatch and a dead body buried out here. None of them really know what's going on, yet, and I want to keep it that way," said Bellamy.

Finn and Murphy both nodded, and with grave expressions on their faces, they started digging.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 44

Murphy Pov

As soon as Murphy, Finn and Bellamy stepped through the gates back into camp, every single eye inside turned to them. They could hear the whispers of confusion, everyone wanting to know what was going on and why there were so many guards positioned outside of the ship. But, they just kept their eyes forward, not saying a word.

It had taken them hours to dig a grave that was deep enough to hold James's body; all they had to use were their hands and large sticks or rocks. It was Murphy who ended up having to move the body inside, a job that he would never forget.

The body had been cold and so limp that as soon as he set it inside, Murphy turned around, doubled over and threw-up.

Picking up that body had been one of the hardest things that he had ever had to do.

Now that it was over he just felt numb – had as soon as he had purged everything from his system. He didn't even remember the walk back, it felt like it had only taken them five minutes before they had arrived back at camp.

Without stopping, the three walked right to the Dropship door, Bellamy knocking on the cold metal three times, before, with a loud mechanical sound, it started to lower.

They walked up the ramp and into the ship, Bellamy dismissing the guards inside and waited until they had left to close the door once again, before sitting down at the table.

"We'll talk to Harper first," Bellamy said lifelessly, "Then Miller. You can both stay if you want."

With a huff, he stood up, back slightly bent from having to dig for such a long period of time, and walked over to the ladder to the right of the table, climbing up it until he reached the door.

"Put your backs against the wall, I'm coming up," Bellamy shouted, pounding on the hatch.

Murphy heard two pairs of shuffling feet from above his head, then silence, and Bellamy slowly opened the door, sticking only his head inside and looking around.

"Harper, come with me," said Bellamy in his demanding voice that left no room for argument.

He could now hear a single pair of footsteps moving towards the hatch and Bellamy started to climb down the ladder as one of Harper's feet became visible on the top wrung.

Bellamy hopped off the ladder, letting her climb to the bottom, then he climbed back up and locked the door again. Jumping back down, he walked Harper over to the empty spot at the table and took his own seat once again, looking the girl up and down.

When Murphy looked at the Harper, there was no life looking back. She looked like a ghost of herself, staring at the opposite wall. Her hair was ratty and sticking up in every direction. She was covered in dirt and filth, and her fingernails were cracked and bleeding, though he had no idea what that had been from seeing as she hadn't put up a fight. But, the thing about her appearance now that stood out the most to him was the dead look in her eyes. She didn't look like she had been crying, or had thrown a dramatic fit like he had expected – she was just empty.

"Harper," said Bellamy in his deep, commanding tone, holding only a touch of softness once he saw the look in her eyes, "I want to start by asking you why you had done what you did. Before I accuse you of anything, I just want to hear it from you."

Harper blinked, but said nothing, not looking at anyone at the table as if she hadn't heard him.

Bellamy cleared his throat, leaning in close to her and fixing her with a dangerous gaze, all softness gone. "If you refuse to answer my questions, then you can believe that things will go very badly for you."

Harper closed her eyes, turning her head towards Bellamy, then opened them again.

"What did you do with James?" she asked in a voice that held no expression.

Surprisingly, Bellamy answered her.

"We buried him where he died. Now, answer my question."

"I want to see him."

"Trust me, there will be plenty of time for that later," said Bellamy sarcastically.

Harper's eyebrows drew together in confusion, the first expression he had seen from her.

"You mean, you're not going to kill me?"

"Not unless you don't answer my question," said Bellamy, resting back in his chair with a leg propped on one of his knees and his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Harper swallowed, then lifted her head a bit higher, looking like she was trying to pull herself together, though failing miserably.

"I had been talking to Miller a few nights ago at one of the fires. We had both been drinking and started ranting on to each other about the people in camp who annoyed us, joking about different ways we could get rid of them. It seemed funny at the time, but in the morning, the idea wouldn't leave my mind. He had told me about how he could never seem to get out of Murphy's shadow and I had told him about how Ella was in the way of mine and Murphy's relationship. So, we came up with a plan as to how to best hurt them both."

"What about James?" asked Finn who had been listening quietly to her explanation.

"He didn't join in until later. The day we took Ella," she looked back down at the table. "He wasn't purpose to be a part of it, but him and I had grown close lately and he had followed Miller and I to our secret spot by the trees in camp where we would talk about our plan."

Murphy closed his eyes.

He had wondered how they had made it behind them that night in the trees. They had been facing towards camp and would have seen anyone coming. But, they had already been there.

Harper looked at Murphy now.

"It was too perfect that you had sat down where you did. The only thing that we had been unable to figure out was how to drag you out of camp through the hole in the fence we had made without being seen, but you completely took that worry away from us.

James had pressured us into letting him in on what was going to take place and had been the one waiting out in the woods far enough away so that he could light a torch that wouldn't be seen by the guards on the wall and lead us through the woods from a few yards away."

"And, was your object to kill her?" asked Bellamy.

"No. We had been prepared for that outcome if it did happen. We would make it look like Grounders had gotten her. And, if she hadn't died, we had planned it in a way that no suspicion would be turned on us," she smirked then, a smirk that could only be described as evil. "You guys would have had no clue if it wasn't for Miller's giant mouth. We could have gotten away with murder and you would have never known it was us."

Bellamy looked at her long and hard, then suddenly all expression left his face as he got to his feet.

"Thank you for your cooperation," he said.

"Now that I've told you what you wanted to hear, does this mean that I get immunity?" she asked with dry amusement.

"You may go," was all he said.

Harper looked up at him with blank eyes, then got to her feet as well and he guided her back over to the ladder. Bellamy pounded on the hatch again, shouting for Miller to put his back against the wall, then opened the door for Harper to climb up and inside, Miller taking her place and climbing down the ladder at Bellamy's command.

Bellamy climbed up, locked the door, and led Miller to the seat that Harper had just occupied.

Miller's face was covered in cuts and bruises, his entire face smudged with his own blood that he had not gotten to wash away. His right eye and upper lip were both swollen and Murphy got satisfaction out of seeing what Finn had done to him.

Finn, on the other hand, looked completely ashen.

"Are you going to start by asking me why I think I'm here?" asked Miller with as much sarcasm as he could muster.

Bellamy was unamused. He just stared at the boy as if waiting for him to say something first. The whole ship was quiet and the silence drew on longer and longer, getting more and more uncomfortable.

Finally, Miller sighed, dropping his head down to his chest and rubbing the back of his neck, then looked back up at Bellamy.

"I don't know what you want me to say. I know for a fact that Harper has already told you everything, I could see it in her eyes when she came back up. I honestly didn't expect her not to keep her mouth shut when she faced you though, so that really wasn't much of a surprise-"

"I want to hear it from you," Bellamy interrupted, in a forced calm voice. "You felt like you didn't have enough work to do, so you decided to try and kill a member of camp, and Ella no less – Ella, who would never do a single thing to hurt anyone in this camp-"

"I didn't do it to hurt her, that was all on Harper. It was Murphy I was after."

He whipped his head around to look at Murphy, but Murphy kept his expression blank.

"Murphy, the loyal number two, can never do anything wrong. God, I wish that Ella had died up there-"

"Enough!" Bellamy shouted as both boys raised to their feet, prepared for a fight. "Miller, I've tried to give you as many chances as I could in the past, but you're short with people, you run into things without really thinking things over, and you can be very reckless at times. That's why Murphy was always been my first choice. Because, despite being sometime reckless and a bit short with others at times, he has a clear head, and not only that, he knows the difference between loyalty and a thirst for power."

Miller was breathing heavily, not taking his eyes off of Murphy as Bellamy spoke.

Bellamy rubbed his eyes, tilting his head forward, and bracing his free hand on the table before him.

"That's all Miller, you can go," he said, not looking at the boy.

"What are you going to do with us?" he asked, soundly the slightest bit uncertain as he finally took his eyes off of Murphy.

"I don't know yet. You will have my answer in the morning."

Murphy took Miller by the arm, leading him back to the ladder. Miller pulled roughly out of his grasp and started climbing, unlocking and opening the door with Murphy shutting and locking it behind him.

Murphy walked back over to the table, where Bellamy was still standing on his feet with a hand on his head, and Finn seated at the table looking exhausted.

"You don't know?" Murphy asked Bellamy, causing the boy to sigh and straighten up to look at him.

"What?"

"You said that you didn't know what you're going to do with them. I know you're not thinking about letting those two live in camp still," said Murphy dangerously.

"I'm not going to talk about this now," said Bellamy, looking more exhausted then Murphy had ever seen him before. "I think I'm just going to turn in early."

The sun hadn't even started to set yet, but turning in right now sounded good right then.

With hunched shoulders, Bellamy walked over and opened the Dropship door, walking out into the blinding sunlight, looking lost and destroyed.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Jasper Pov

"I wish that I could tell you that I know how you're feeling; that I can understand what you're going through, but I don't – not really. The only form of life I've taken was a deer and a couple of squirrels," said Jasper, looking over at Monty, trying to get some kind of reaction out of him.

After Monty had said those few words to him, he had fallen back into silence, staring at nothing. His face was blank, and judging by the dark circles under his eyes, he looked like he hadn't slept all night.

Clarke had left them alone to talk, telling him that he had been like that since she brought him to her tent.

His face was washed clean of any dirt and his hair untangled as if she had run her fingers through it. His dirty cloths were the only things left behind from what had taken place in the woods.

Monty had never been very brave, they had been a lot alike in that way back on the Ark. The day they had taken the herbs from the food storage, they had both been shaking in their boots, looking from side to side every two seconds, terrified of being caught. He couldn't even say why they had done it at all, for he knew that if they were caught, they would pay dearly. And, they had.

The Earth had changed Jasper once they came down here, it had made him stronger. But, he couldn't say the same for Monty. He tried to act braver than he really was, not wanting to always be left behind. Jasper knew that Monty wanted to keep up with him, and had tried to get him to work in the tent with him and Raven more. But, Jasper had been too caught up in being in the big leagues with Bellamy that he had not been there for his best friend, like he always had before.

"Remember the time you and I tried to make a time machine when we were ten?" asked Jasper smiling at the memory, but there was no difference in Monty's expression. "And then as soon as we turned it on the whole thing started smoking and began to spark and we had to put it out with a fire extinguisher?"

Jasper sighed when nothing he said had any effect on his friend, but wasn't about to let himself give up.

"I am so sorry that what happened happened, but it was a crazy accident. Why do you think that you haven't gotten in trouble? Why do you think that you're not locked up in that Dropship with the other prisoners? It's because it wasn't your fault. It was never your intent to kill James, and we all know that. The only one punishing you for what you did is you," said Jasper, his voice rising, and he could hear the plead in his voice. "What happened was terrible, but you can't blame yourself for an accident, even if the rock came from your own hands."

Jasper had hoped that when he had mentioned James's name, or what Monty had done he would get something out of him. He had expected him to at least flinch at hearing it, but his face remained blank and distant as though he were no longer there.

He didn't need Clarke to tell him that he was in shock, but he also knew that this couldn't last forever. He would eventually come back. That wasn't to say that he wouldn't be different. The sight of James's lifeless body on the cold ground would haunt him for the rest of his life, but Jasper would be there for him as long as he needed.

He decided to go back to the second tactic of trying to get some emotion out of him.

"Sometimes, I miss the Ark. I know that sounds weird, we had been trapped up there our whole lives, with nothing knew to see, and all of a sudden there's this whole world to explore, but I really do miss it. I miss my bed and I miss our workshops," he looked down at the ground. "I miss my parents. But, this place feels – right. I feel like I'm suppose to be here. Things have to get bad before they can get better, and I think things are going to start looking up for us."

Jasper looked back over at Monty and put a hand on his shoulder, watching his face closely. His heart nearly skipped a beat when he saw a single tear fill in the boys eye and slide slowly down his face.

"And, I want you to know that no matter what happens, you're always going to have me by your side," Jasper went on. "It's going to take a lot more than a spear to the heart to take me out, and as long as I'm still breathing, you're stuck with me."

Jasper had been referring to one of his earlier moments on Earth when they had first left camp to hike to Mount Weather to retrieve the food and supplies waiting for them there. But, something had gone terribly wrong along the way and he had been speared by a Grounder from in the trees. He had recovered just fine, but the memory would never leave him as long as he lived.

Jasper saw a small flicker of light in Monty's eye, a light that gave Jasper hope.

He had been sitting with Monty for a long time though he couldn't say exactly how long. Most of their time had just been sitting in silence, with Jasper at a lose for words on what to say in the position he was in. He had never had to consul anyone who had done what Monty did, but he was his best friend, so just talked to him like he would any other day.

That's when Jasper remembered that he had left Emile in his tent. Guilt immediately washed over him as he remembered he had told her that he was only going to be a few minutes and then promised to be right back. But, how was he suppose to leave Monty in the position he was in? Even if Emile did need him too, he just couldn't do that to him.

"Hey, want me to ask Clarke if you can come back to our tent to get some rest? I really think you'll be more comfortable in there, in you're own bed," he said, though didn't really expect a response.

Nothing.

"Alright, if you say so," said Jasper anyway, getting to his feet and walking over to the flap of Clarke's tent, peeking his head out in search of Clarke herself.

He spotted her sitting on the food table where nuts and berries were being stored in containers, and called out to her. She came over right away, looking anxious and peeking around him into the tent.

"Is Monty okay? Did something happen?" she asked worriedly.

"Oh, no, sorry, I just wanted to know if I could move Monty back to our tent so he can try to get some rest. I left Emile in there and I need to go back and check on her, but I think it will do Monty some good to have me around as well."

Clarke looked at him with a tired expression. "Alright, just try not to over due it."

"Look who's talking," said Jasper lightheartedly. "I've got Emile and Monty taken care of, Ella's got Murphy and Raven has Finn looking after them. You should try to get some sleep."

Clarke's eyes started to close just at hearing the word "sleep".

"I guess a nap wouldn't hurt," she said, looking at her bed longingly over his shoulder. "I'll come by to check on you three before tomorrow."

Jasper put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about us. You rest, I've got this handled."

Clarke looked at him like he was a saint and walked past him into the tent, plopping down on her bed.

"Do you need some help with him?" she asked, looking over at Monty sitting on the ground and laying back on her bed.

Jasper shook his head, walking over to his friend and lifting up one of his arms to drape over his neck and hoisted the boy to his feet.

"No, I've got him-" he said, turning back to Clarke, but stopped when he saw that she was already asleep.

With a sigh, he turned back towards the entrance and walked out into the busy camp. Heads turned as people watched Jasper half drag Monty back to their tent. Monty, to Jasper surprise didn't have too much trouble with walking and he was able to get him all the way back to their tent with little to no trouble.

When he stepped inside, his eyes went right to his bed were Emile laid with the covers pulled up to her nose, her eyes wide. As soon as she saw him come in, she bolted up.

"I'm so sorry Emile, something happened last night and Monty needed my help. I lost track of time," he rushed out quickly as he laid Monty down on his bed, then rushed over to sit beside Emile.

"I was so scared. I tried to get up, but I fell, and-" she stopped when she uncovered her legs from the blanket, showing him the cut that had reopened on her leg from when she fell.

"Emile," Jasper breathed out, feeling awful.

She looked down at the blankets ashamed, and he put a finger under her chin to lift her head back up so that he could kiss her. Emile gave a little gasp of surprised, but immediately kissed him back and Jasper smiled against her soft lips.

When he pulled away, he caressed her cheek, then walked over to the bucket of water that was placed inside all of the tents and took out the rag on the side, dunking it in the water, he brought it back over to her.

As gently as he could, he cleaned her wound, wiping away the blood as Emile fell back on his bed, letting him take care of her.

When he was done, he took out on of the clean bandages that Clarke had given him and wrapped it around her leg.

The wound was on her upper thigh and Jasper could see goosebumps form where he touched her sensitive skin.

When he finished with the bandage, he coughed and quickly moved off the bed to throw the rag back in the water.

Jasper bent down to tuck Monty under the covers, the other boy closing his eyes for what he figured was the first time since the accident, then turned back to Emile.

She was sitting up again, with her hands braced behind her on the bed, smiling at him.

"What?" he asked, smiling at how cute she looked.

"Nothing," she said her smile growing wider, shaking her head and flopping back down on the bed.

Jasper moved back over to join her – snuggling up under the covers with Emile's head resting on his shoulder.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Murphy Pov

After Bellamy had left the Dropship, Murphy and Finn had stayed behind for a while, not quite knowing what to do next.

Bellamy hadn't given them instructions on what to do about guarding the prisoners, and no one had come into the ship once he had left.

They couldn't just leave them there unguarded, so had stayed in the ship debating on what to do.

Without orders to do so, Murphy was doubtful that any of the guards on the wall would come back into the ship at his order, but he didn't think that bothering Bellamy at the moment was a very good idea judging by the way he looked when he had left.

Eventually, he decided to just tell two of the guards that had been in the ship before, who didn't have a job set in place that Bellamy wanted them back in the ship, though he really gave them no such order to do so. Murphy was too tired to care about the hell Bellamy would give him the next day for giving false orders, so just let them take over as guard so that Murphy could return to Ella and Finn could return to Raven.

Murphy had never had such a need for someone as he did right then for Ella in his life. He had thought about her all day through every stressful event that took place, and he let the relief consume him at knowing that he was now on his way to see her.

He walked right past his tent and into Ella's, stepping inside without giving any kind of warning. But, she wasn't there.

He frowned, feeling the exhaustion creep up on him, and felt like he was about to fall over. His head hurt, and his back was sore, and he didn't think that he was going to be able to search the whole camp for her with out blacking out, so decided to go back to his tent to try to pull himself back together, though he knew that he wouldn't feel much better until his eyes landed on Ella.

He walked into his tent, throwing the flap to the side in annoyance and froze when he saw Ella laying in his bed.

She was only wearing her black shorts and undershirt, her hair smooth and shiny, flowing across his bed like a silver sheet as she stretched out across his blanket.

She looked up and smiled at him when she saw him come in, then frowned at the look on his face.

Murphy stumbled over to the bed as Ella started to sit up and collapsed down beside her, throwing his arms around her and burying his face into her neck.

"Murphy," she breathed, wrapping her arms around him tightly, one of her hands instantly going to his hair to soothingly play with the stands there like she always did when she comforted him.

She didn't ask him what was wrong, just held him in her arms. She never asked him what was wrong when she knew that he was upset, but waited for him to supply it if he wanted to. That was another thing that he loved about her; she never tried to push him on anything, just held him when he couldn't hold himself up any longer.

Ella laid back down on the bed, taking him with her, her arms still tightly around his and hand in his hair, her legs coming up to wrap around his legs as he tried to position himself in such a way that he wasn't crushing her delicate body.

It had gotten considerably darker outside as Finn and Murphy had sat in the Dropship, and there wasn't a light lit inside the tent. Only the faint glow of the fading sun illuminated the small space.

It was still warm out, but the warmth he felt in Ella's arms was what slowed his beating heart, and he was finally able to calm himself for the first time since seeing James's body.

Ella turned her head and started kissing little butterfly kissing over his face which was turned towards her, his eyes holding all the love in the world as he looked into hers. He had no idea what he would do without this girl by his side.

One of Ella's hands moved down to his back to rub it and she felt how dirty his cloths were.

"Murphy, you're full of dirt. Come here," she said in a soothing voice, sitting up, forcing him to do the same and she came up on her hunches, looking up at Murphy who was a good head taller than she was in this position.

She looked down at the hem of his shirt and reached down to pull it over his head, throwing it to the floor.

Unable to resist, Murphy bent down and captured her lips with his, the kiss slow and gentle. Ella sighed against his lips and brought her hands down to the button of his jeans.

He stopped her with a hand on hers and she snapped her head up to look at him.

He was breathing heavily as he leaned forward to press his forehead against hers, breathing hot air against her lips, his long hair falling forward and tickling her face with the movement.

"Don't," he whispered.

Ella leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips again, and unbuttoned his pant and pulled the zipper down.

Murphy's heart was beating so fast, but his hands wouldn't move back up to stop her.

"You can't get your bed all dirty," she said against his lips.

Taking advantage of his silence, she pulled his pants down, and Murphy unfroze himself long enough to pull them off the rest of the way.

He was only in his undershorts now and as he straightened back up from tossing his pants to the floor, Ella placed a hand on his muscular chest, staring down at it.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but instead just leaned forward and began to kiss the side of his neck where it met his chin. Murphy closed his eyes, willing himself to stop her before it went any farther, but his body craved this contact. He was frozen in place as she moved her lips, trailing them down to his chest and then started kissing lower.

"Ella," he was finally able to choke out, though his voice was barely above a whisper.

She stopped what she was doing and looked back up into his eyes. Her eyes were filled with love and want and trust and behind them a bit of fear - but leading the pack was love.

"I've waited for you for so long, I don't want to wait for this. I don't want to wait for what I want anymore," she said, holding his broken gaze.

He didn't think that he had it in him to deny her. After what he had had to see and do that day, he didn't think that he could handle much more. He needed this. He needed her. But, it was her first time, and he couldn't let her do this without being completely sure.

"Ella, I don't want you to do something that you'll regret," he whispered, looking down at the hand he now held in his.

"This is what I want. I want – I need you. Let me make you feel better," she said.

The innocents in her voice made him feel like a monster. He knew what taking her virginity meant. He knew that it wasn't something to take lightly and hated the thought of the terrible things she would be thinking when she woke up the next morning knowing that he had taken something so precious from her.

But, when he looked back at her face, he could see the honesty in what she said. She wanted this. He wasn't forcing her into anything. This was her choice.

They needed each other.

With trembling hands, Murphy cupped her face and kissed her deeply, feeling Ella smile against his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to pull him closer to her body.

Murphy put his hands on her waist, looking deep into her eyes for anything to tell him that she wanted him to stop. She nodded at him and with shaky hands, he removed her shirt.

Murphy laid her back on the bed, his kisses becoming more desperate, with Ella kissing him back with a desperation to match.

"I love you," he said against her lips.

"I loved you, too," she whispered back.


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Ella Pov

As soon as Ella opened her eyes, the flood of memories of the night before came crashing through her mind and she couldn't help the smile that came to her lips. She stretched out in the bed, trying to push the smile down, but it just didn't seem to want to leave her face.

Ella rolled onto her side to face a peacefully sleeping Murphy, propping one of her hands under her head, her eyes traveling down from his face down his body to where the blanket wrapped around his waist hid the rest of him from view, though she could now vividly picture what the rest of his body looked like.

Ella didn't think that she had ever been so happy or felt so loved as she did last night. The fact that she had been so scared to do what they had done seemed completely crazy to her now.

Ella reached out with the hand that wasn't under her head and lightly brushed a strand of hair back that had fallen into Murphy's face, careful not to wake him.

She didn't really know what she had been doing in his tent last night. Maybe she was looking to do what they had just done. But, once she had seen his face – the broken look in his eyes, all she could think about was making him feel better. Bringing him back to himself.

She could have easily guessed what had made him so distraught. She knew that he was going out to help the other boys with James. Murphy was a strong person, and the boy they were going to retrieve had done something to her that she knew he would never forgive, and yet seeing the person you hated laying lifeless on the ground was bound to change anyone's opinion of that person.

Ella snuggled closer to him, burying her face in his neck and pulled the blanket farther up both of them and sighed contently.

What she felt right then was everything she had been craving for such a long time and didn't think that she could ever feel any happier than she felt at that moment.

Murphy started to stir beside her and her heart started racing as she looked up at his face waiting for his eyes to open in excitement, pulling the blanket up over her nose.

When he opened his eye, he immediately looked down at her and laughed when he saw her almost completely buried under the blankets.

With a satisfied groan, he rolled over, half on top of her, wrapping an arm and a leg over her from under the blanket and started kissing the exposed part of her face.

Ella giggled, closing her eyes and pulling him closer to her, moving up so that she could capture his lips with hers. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, blushing at how intimate the action was despite what they had done just hours before.

He moved his lips across her cheek to her ear lobe and nibbled it lightly, then trailed kisses down her neck to the soft spot he had found last night, drawing a moan out of her.

"We have to get dress," he said reluctantly, before he could make her too excited.

"No," she moan, trying to pull his lips back down to hers.

Murphy laughed. "Bellamy is going to gather everyone this morning to tell them what's going on and he needs us there."

Ella groaned, not untangling her arms and legs from around him, but sliding a hand into the back of his messy hair and massaging his scalp the way he liked.

"Don't even try any of your tricks. You're not keeping me in this bed," said Murphy, tickling her sides.

Ella laughed and wriggled underneath him, drawing a moan from Murphy now, and making him realize that that was probably not the best thing to do if he ever wanted to leave the bed.

He kissed her deeply one last time, then kissed his way down her body until he made it to a sitting position and Ella held out a hand for him to pull her up with him which he gladly took.

Murphy smiled down at Ella, caressing her cheek with his thumb and kissed her on the nose.

"I love you," he said for what felt like the one-hundredth time in the last few hours.

Ella was no where near complaining, though.

"I love you, too," she said, a smile spreading across her face from ear to ear.

As soon as the blanket fell away from his body as Murphy got up from the bed, Ella blushed and looked down at the blanket and heard him laughing at her when he looked back.

He tossed her her cloths, knowing that she was going to be too embarrassed to get out of bed and retrieve them herself and she looked up at him to give him a grateful smile and started to pull her cloths on as he did the same.

Ella got a bit distracted as she watched Murphy pull on his pants then looked around the room for his shoes, shirtless.

She had seen him without a shirt many times before, but the sight never got old to her. His muscles rippled as he moved to grab up his shirt and raised it above his head to throw on. Before he pulled it over his head he looked back at her and gave her a wink.

Ella rolled her eyes smiling.

Once they were dressed, Ella hopped out of bed and grabbed her shoes, slipping them onto her feet, then ran over to Murphy and threw her arms around his neck, suddenly feeling the need for him to hold her again.

Murphy picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder as he kissed her neck. She sighed, closing her eyes, holding on tighter.

Suddenly, Bellamy's shouts could be heard from outside calling for everyone's attention and they both sighed and broke apart, Murphy carefully setting her back down on her feet.

"Let's get this over with," he said, taking Ella's hand in his and they both exited his tent together, heading for the Dropship.


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Ella Pov

"Everyone, please, quiet down," Clarke shouted from her spot beside Bellamy.

The two of them were standing on the open Dropship door, everyone in camp gathered around the pair, with Murphy, Ella, Raven and Finn at the front.

It hadn't taken long to gather everyone here. As soon as one person heard that everything in camp that had been happening in secret was finally going to come to light, it was only a matter of time before they were all gathered there, waiting for Bellamy to start.

After a while, everyone quieted down and Bellamy cleared his throat, looking over all of them.

"I know you are all probably wondering what has been going on. A lot has happened in the past forty-eight hours that I only now am able to share with you. I wanted to first thank you all for waiting so patiently," he shouted, so that the dozens and dozens of people in camp could hear him.

Murphy scoffed when he said that they had all waited patiently, because in truth, just walking from the Dropship to his tent last night had been a total nightmare of everyone in camp swarming around him, asking him questions about what was going on, which he clearly wasn't in the mood to answer. He had just ignored them and kept walking.

Bellamy's eyes flickered down at Murphy briefly at the noise, but he just shook his head and kept going.

"As you all know by now, there had been a scare of someone being kidnapped from camp."

Everyone was so quiet, waiting for what he was going to say next that if a butterfly flew past you could hear a its wings beat.

"We found the person who did it."

The sound of breaths being sucked in and murmurs trickling through the crowd could be heard from behind Ella and she looked down at the ground, knowing that everyone behind her must be staring at her at the moment and not at Bellamy.

"Was it Grounders?" someone called.

Bellamy looked down at his feet, then back out at the crowd, taking a deep breath of air.

"No," he said.

Confusion spread over the crowd.

"It was Miller, Harper and James," Bellamy said finally, not looking anyone in the eye.

Everyone's confusion was now mixed with surprise, no one really knowing how to react to that.

Suddenly, everyone started shouting question, looking even more anxious to know what was going on now than they did before.

"So, was it just a prank?"

"Where is James?"

"Yeah, we saw the others go into the Dropship, but no one can find James."

"Why do you guys keep going out there?"

"What's happening to them?"

"Quiet!" Bellamy shouted over the crowd in his growly, commanding voice.

Everyone stopped talking at once.

"I know you all have questions, and I promise that I will answer them all," he said a bit quieter. "What those three did was far from a prank. When they did what they did to Ella, they knew that there was a good chance that she would die out there. You saw what they did to her when we brought her back."

Ella turned bright red, looking back down at the ground, hoping that he would just move on. She could only imagine what everyone's faces looked like just then: like someone had just slapped them in the face - the way it had felt to her.

"Yes, Miller and Harper are indeed inside the Dropship right now awaiting there fate. And, as for James," he looked around the crowd again, looking reluctant to say what he knew he had to. "I am afraid to say that he is no longer with us," he finished.

Ella had expected to hear gasps, but all that met her ears was silence. She chanced a quick glance behind her. They all looked completely lost. Some people were shaking there heads, breathing heavily, some of them were looking in the distance at nothing, eyes wide and mouths open, and some just looked plain shocked.

"He's dead?" someone finally asked.

Bellamy nodded, looking down at his feet. Ella could tell how hard this was for him, even though he was trying his hardest not to show it. She wished that she could comfort him somehow.

"How did it happen?" someone else asked.

Ella hardly ever got angry, but at that moment, she really wanted to punch whoever said that when she saw the torn look that came over Bellamy's face at their question.

That's when she noticed that Monty, Jasper and Emile weren't there. She hadn't seen any of them since this all started, and made a mental note to check on them as soon as possible.

"There was an accident in the woods," he said, looking the person that had asked him – a boy with long blond hair that reminded her of James himself – right in the eye, with a look on his face that left him no room for more questioning.

"And, as for Miller and Harper, they will be banished from camp for not only the crime of almost killing Ella, but also for the intent of killing Raven," he shouted over the crowd.

Everyone gasped then, all of them talking at once, and instead of trying to shout over them again, he just held up one hand.

"After Raven had uncovered what had happened in the woods with Ella, the three attacked her. I will not let my camp fall to pieces. Order needs to be restored. Miller and Harper _will_ be banished, and if either of them are found anywhere near camp again, they will be shot on sight."

Without another word, Bellamy turned around and disappeared into the Dropship, with Clarke following right behind him.

The crowd was talking in excited voices, most of them trying to ask Ella and Raven farther question, with Murphy and Finn deflected them, pulling the girls inside the Dropship as well.

There were four guards stationed in there who tried to stop them as soon as they came in, but Bellamy's voice came from the back of the ship, demanding to let them through.

He walked over to them with two packs in his hands.

"I'm going to give them each a pack with food and water and a knife each," he said.

"Are you kidding me? You're giving them our weapons? Why would you arm them at all?" demanded Murphy.

Bellamy looked at him like he didn't even know himself why he was doing it.

"Their still our people. I'm not sending them out there to die. I'm sending them out there, because their both a threat to this camp," said Bellamy, looking down at the two packs in his hands.

Ella reach up and hand and placed it on Murphy's arm, rubbing her thumb over it, to get his attention.

"It's okay, Murphy," she said in a small voice. "I don't want them to die out there."

Both boys looked at her like what she had just said was the sadist thing they had ever heard.

Ella felt Raven put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked back at her to see Raven looking down at her with a slanted smile.

"She's right, no one else needs to die," said Raven, shocking everyone in the ship.

Both Murphy and Finn looked defeated at that, neither one of them seeming to want to tell them that they were wrong, when they were they ones who all of this had happened to.

Bellamy nodded and handed the packs to one of the guards behind him and started up the ladder to the hatch, knocking on the door so that he could open it.

"It's time," he said once he opened it and stuck his head up into the hatch and the two prisoners followed him down the ladder in silence.

Ella had expected more a struggled from both of them.

Harper glared at her as soon as she came down, ignoring everyone else in the ship. Ella returned her gaze without expression, feeling sorry for the girl rather than relieved that she was no longer going to be able to hurt her or her relationship with Murphy.

Murphy took her hand as if he could protect her from the girl's anger even though she knew that Harper wouldn't try anything.

"You'll each get a pack to take out there with you. I've filled them both with enough food and water to last you for four days, after that, you're on your own," said Bellamy as the guards took position behind the two prisoners.

"Thanks, man," said Miller in the voice of a man that had been squashed to the size of an ant, taking his pack.

Harper just snatched her pack from the guards hands without saying a word.

Bellamy nodded towards the door and two of the four guards walked out, clearing a path for the prisoners through the crowd of curious teenagers.

Murphy put a gentle hand on Ella's back and they both walked out, followed by Finn and Raven, walking over to the gate, where the men guarding the wall stood.

Ella kept her head down as they walked, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze and give them the chance to ask her more questions.

Ella, Murphy, Finn and Raven stopped on the right side of the gate, then turned to look back just in time to see Bellamy and two other guards escorting Miller and Harper out of the Dropship.

No one made a sound as they walked through the small space that was caved for them, both of them just keeping their eyes straight ahead, not looking at a single person.

It was still early in the morning, the light was dim and a thick fog spread across the Earth. The sky was gray, making the sun look white behind the sheet of clouds.

No one came up to either Miller or Harper to say goodbye as Bellamy explained the terms to them of not being able to step foot in camp again.

Everything was happening so quick and before she knew it, Bellamy gave the signal to open the gates.

Miller looked back at Ella, the look on his face one of shame.

"I'm sorry, Ella," he said sincerely, just before the gate shut in front of the pair, closing them out of camp forever.

Murphy pulled Ella into a big hug as soon as they were gone, and she could feel that he was shaking slightly.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she breathed against his chest. "I'm sorry about your friend."

Murphy laughed a helpless laugh and pulled her tighter against him.

"Uh, I love you," he said.

When he let her go, Bellamy was standing beside them, looking ten time older than he actually was.

"You guys can have the day off. You too Raven – Finn," he sighed, nodding at each of them in turn.

Murphy nodded back and turned both him and Ella around, heading back to his tent.

Ella rubbed his back as they walked through the flap and both of them collapsed on his bed, Murphy pulling Ella on top of her.

"We're never leaving this bed again," Murphy groaned, making Ella laugh as she silently agreed.


	50. Epilogue

**A/N: Well, it's here guys! The last chapter! I've really enjoyed writing this story for all of you and I wanted to thank you all for reading. Your comments and support were what kept me going and I couldn't have ask for better readers. If you like the story and want me to continue with it then just leave a comment saying so and I'll write a sequel. In order to know when the sequel will be out if you do in fact want me to write one, you can just add me to your favorite authors list and it will notify you when it's out. I love you all so so much!**

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Epilogue

Ella squealed as she slipped on a slippery rock in her bare feet under the water, Murphy rushing up behind her to catch her before she fell backwards.

"Thank you," she said breathlessly, smiling and turned around to wrap her arms around his neck.

Ella, Murphy, Raven, Finn, Jasper, Emile, and with some encouragement, Monty had all finished their work early so that they could go down to the pond and swim.

It had been two months since Miller and Harper had been banished from camp, and no one had heard from them since. Ella wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

For weeks, every time the team had gone out to go hunting, Ella had been looking from side to side the entire time, expecting to see one of them in the woods. But, she never did.

She couldn't help but wonder what had happened to them and if they were all right.

Everything in camp had finally slowed down, and she was now able to walk out of her tent without people bombarding her with questions.

Everyone who had been injured during what had happened two months ago had healed completely, including Emile who was now being held up by Jasper in the water, smiling in his arms.

Out of all of them, Jasper had been the one to catch on to the whole swimming thing first, and now Emile and Monty were the only ones who still couldn't.

They were all in the water now but Monty who was sitting on the small pebbles on shore, messing with some mechanical object in his lap, deep in concentration.

Finn and Raven were sitting on the log that her and Ella had sat on the day Ella had run out into the woods, and she noticed Raven's gaze flashing over to Monty with worry written all over her face, but clearly didn't want Finn to notice, so did so discreetly, less he be mad.

Jasper and Emile got out of the water then and walked over to Monty, sitting down beside him and tried to pull him into a conversation.

Monty had gotten better in the last few weeks. The first month after Jame's death, he seemed like a ghost. Ella had gone to see him often, sitting down and talking to him in his tent even though he never answered her. She just wanted to be there for him.

He wasn't completely better yet, but he responded when asked a question and had gone back to work in the work tent with Raven, and that gave her hope.

Even though their physical appearance looked fine, they were all still healing.

Ella wrapped her legs around Murphy's waist under the water and he lifted her up his body a bit so that he could kiss her.

She was wearing only her sports bra and shorts in the water and knew that this was going to be a pain to walk back in under her cloth, but at the moment, she could really care less about that when she was in the arms of a wet and shirtless Murphy.

Ella blushed at her own thoughts and buried her face in his neck so that he wouldn't see.

Murphy backed up in the water so that he could rest his back on the wall of rock behind him, sitting down on a rock slightly raised in the water and sat Ella down on his lap, watching as her long silver hair fanned out in the water around her.

Murphy wiped away a water droplet off her nose just before it fell and her blue eyes sparkled up at him, drawing a chuckle out of him and he couldn't help bending down to kiss her again.

"We should go back in about an hour, before it gets dark," said Murphy, looking around at the trees in front of them seriously. "We wouldn't want to be stuck out here with the Grounders at night, not to mention Miller and Harper, who are probably waiting in the bushes for us with their sidekick the evil two-headed deer."

Ella laughed and hit him on the chest.

"There will never be a day where you are unable to work the two-headed deer into a conversation," she said, shaking her head.

He laughed and kicked out in the water, watching it fall back down like rain.

Ella smiled as she looked back out on all her friends: Jasper and Emile, pulling a smile out of Monty – a very rare sight - as they talked on shore. Raven and Finn, sitting on the log with their feet in the water, Finn's arms slung over Raven's shoulders and pulling her against him as she laughed at something he said.

She felt complete watching them all, and snuggled closer to Murphy, running a finger through the water and watching it ripple.

They were finally home.

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 **A/N: 3**


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